Tron's Revival: Glitches and Heroes
by JayJayBird28
Summary: Things are finally settling down for Hiro, until a baffling villain comes to town. To Vanellope, the villain is just an annoying code. But soon, both parties will find themselves trapped in the last Tron arcade game machine on the planet. Together, they make their way through the grid trying to escape from the hands of the enemy. Tron/Wreck-it-Ralph/Big Hero 6 crossover
1. Prologue

Hiro Hamada takes a deep breath in as he tosses a purple helmet onto his desk. He gazes around at his dirty garage and shakes his head. How is it possible that he spends all day tracking bad guys, but can't take five minutes to clean the garage? The amount of crumbled up papers on the floor was enough to build a small fortress.

Hiro pulls out a chair from his desk and plops down as if he hasn't gotten a chance to sit in ages. He pulls up to his computer, his battle suit still on. He hadn't done much fighting this time, the team agreeing it would be best to try to capture this new villain rather than fight them head on. Hiro had stayed above the scene, soaring through the sky. Low enough so that he could still see, but high enough to where he wouldn't raise as much suspicion.

"Are you satisfied with your care, Hiro?" A robotic voice calls behind him. Hiro laughs to himself, pushing his messy mob of black hair out of his face, "Hiro?"

"Before you go, Baymax, can you upload everything you saw today into the servers?" Hiro says pressing a few buttons on the computer in front of him.

"Done," The large white puffy robot responds, "Are you satisfied with your care?"

"I am satisfied with my care." Hiro laughs to himself. Baymax bows slightly and hobbles over to a little red box. He lifts his stubby right leg and places it into the box. He slowly lifts his left leg and places it in the box. Hiro watches as Baymax powers down and begins to deflate. Finally the box completely closes.

It had been four years since the incident concerning Professor Robert Callaghan and Krei Tech Industries. The world had been pretty shaken by the news, but it was slowly coming to be a regular as Big Hero 6 never disbanded. They only grew stronger and took down mass villains on a daily basis. It was even harder for Hiro to realize that in a matter of days, he was going to be turning 18. That was a big number to him and kind of hard to swallow.

Hiro shakes his head and returns his focus to his computer. He swipes the air with his hand and the information Baymax had sent displays in 3D in front of him. Hiro surveys the footage of their battle with a woman they were calling PixelChick. PixelChick is beyond any villain Big Hero 6 has ever faced. She completely baffled the police.

PixelChick never shows her face and her outfit was all white but in the night it glows a bright white color. It was beautiful but menacing. Her helmet glows the same as her suit. The team has had a hard time countering her attacks since everything that she touches with her bare hands turns to computer code. PixelChick always works alone and only ever robs arcades. She never takes any money though. She destroys most, if not all, of the machines, completely putting arcades out of business. She has hit more than fifteen arcades surrounding San Fransokyo and Hiro has yet to find a pattern.

Hiro rewinds the footage to the beginning of the battle. An African American guy pops up on the screen. His suit looks of steel and is an electric green color. His helmet covers spiky brown hair. The guy is running towards a tall building, following a recognizable shadow. It was PixelChick.

Another, tall Hispanic girl with a purple and red dress and black leggings appears on the screen. Her helmet covers her face, but her long blond hair still flows in the wind. There is a purse strapped around her body. She clutches to it tightly as she runs along the tops of the buildings. As she nears the end of one roof, she presses three buttons on her purse and a blue orb disperses. She tosses it on the ground and it hoists her over and onto the next building. The girl stops and points.

A shorter Japanese-American girl in a bright yellow suit zooms past the green guy (known as Wasabi) and the taller girl (known as Honey Lemon) on a yellow, disk based bike. The bike seems to glide across the sidewalk as the GoGo wizzes by the emptied streets. Hiro still does not understand why PixelChick decided that the arcade in this area was a good target. This is the side of town where the bot fighters come out at night. The rest of the day, these streets are abandoned.

Hiro stops the footage, watching as PixelChick suddenly disappears. He notices first that her shadow disappears before the rest of her. It is almost as if she had _deleted_ herself from the fight. One second she is there and the next she isn't. It is no surprise that the blond haired guy in a monster suit with three eyes, horns, and flames, was so confused when he turned to attack the air.

It makes no sense that anybody could simply disappear into thin air, yet this villain could. There has to be something he is missing… some factor that is in play that he can't see. It is driving him nuts that he can't find it. He shouldn't be working this hard days before his birthday. The birthday that his older brother won't be there to witness. The birthday that his dead brother won't be there for.

Hiro walks over to a machine and waits patiently as it begins to take off his suit. He watches as his suit is tucked away into the wall. Suddenly his garage transforms from a battle hub into a normal garage. All of his high tech devices are stowed away by the touch of a button. Hiro puts his hand to his head as he walks out of the garage and back into civilization.

Hiro's garage was detached from the rest of his house. It made it easy for him and the rest of the team to have some privacy while they workout or hang. But as Hiro walks to the front of his Aunt Cass's café, in the setting sun, he really wishes that his friends were there at that moment. The café should have been closed but yet, there his Aunt and another woman are sitting at a table talking.

Aunt Cass's café was quaint. It has green walls and a line of bookcases. She has just finished upgrading the tables to small dark wood tables and modern, steel chairs. The plush seats were green as well, accenting the walls. The front counter matched the color of the floors and the new tables. Hiro personally liked the new look. It was nice to see that his Aunt's business was expanding.

Hiro glances between his Aunt Cass with short auburn hair and the lady with black hair pulled into a bun sitting across from her. The two were laughing uncontrollably. The woman with the black hair looked familiar but he couldn't put a finger on where he had seen her before. She looked American from what he could tell.

"Oh Hiro!" Aunt Cass suddenly exclaims, "I was wondering when you were coming back!"

"That's okay Aunt Cass," Hiro smiles nervously, "I was just about to go upstairs and take a shower. I just got back from SFIT."

"How'd the meeting with Abigail Callahagn go?" Aunt Cass smiled her sweet, mothering smile.

"It went great," Hiro nodded, still walking towards the stairs that led up to the house part of the café, "I really think she is getting the hang of taking over her father's place as overseer and professor of the robotics division."

"That's wonderful! Before you go I would like you to meet someone. You met her once a long time ago,"

The woman smiled up at Hiro with bright white teeth. She extended her hand for Hiro to take. She had a soft touch and her nails were freshly trimmed and colored to match her dark purple dress.

"Oh what a little honey bunches of oats! He's so grown now!" The woman exclaims.

"Hiro, this is Ms. Schweetzeneger."

Visions of a younger looking version of this woman floods his mind. He remembers her from when he was little. He remembered one specific day when he was at the park and this woman was standing to the left of him and his daughter smiling down at them. She was slimmer then and a lot less curvy.

Another man waved to her, a man Hiro assumed to be her husband. He was short and rounded with choppy brown hair. Who were these people?

"It's nice to meet you," Hiro says instead, trying not to let his mind wander, "I'm sorry, I really don't remember much about you."

"What a sweetheart!" The woman laughed, "You were so little I wouldn't expect you to remember, hun! Would you like some candy?"

The woman reaches out her hand displaying a handful of candy. Hiro laughs nervously and shakes his head, "No thank you... I uh... Think I should go now,"

"No matter! I should be going anyway. Thank you again Cass, I really needed the advice," the woman's smile faded as she turned to Cass with sad eyes, "Please tell me if you hear anything, okay?"

"I will, don't you worry," Cass tells Ms. Schweetzeneger with a sympathetic look in her eye. The woman waves back to Hiro one last time as Cass locks the door behind her on her way out of the cafe.

"What was that about?" Hiro asks as Cass puts a hand on his back and leads him up the stairs that lead to their house.

"You were so young," Cass sighs as they reach the top of the stairs. To the left is an outdated, messy kitchen. If one were to continue going straight instead of turning, another set of stairs would lead upwards to an extended bedroom. But for now, they remain in the kitchen as Aunt Cass reaches for a glass, some sleeping pills, and donuts.

"So you have said. Aunt Cass, what's going on?" Hiro asks, leaning against the counter.

"Well, when you were still with your parents and Tadashi... You couldn't have been older than two or three... Anyway there was this little girl the two of you used to hang out with. She was a little ball of energy that one. This little girl was Ms. Schweetzeneger's daughter. They called her Vanellope," Cass laughs at the name, "Vanellope was a very special child. Everyone loved her! Her father's company wanted to use her as the new face of a video game that is well known nowadays."

"What game?" Hiro raised an eyebrow.

"Some racing arcade game called Sugar Rush," Aunt Cass shook her head, "Anyway one day Ms. Schweetzeneger woke up and her husband and Vanellope were gone. A few weeks later this phenomenon of a game is released and becomes one of the most popular arcade games in the world."

"How does someone just disappear and then release an arcade game? His name would have had to been on the developers list or something, right?" Hiro raises an eyebrow.

"Beats me. The police haven't been able to track him or Vanellope down but the game lives on. Ms. Schweetzeneger informed me today that they are coming out with Sugar Rush 2.0 with the characters more grown up and they are on bikes instead of cars. New levels, new interface... Same characters though. Vanellope being one of them."

"Tadashi and I used to play Sugar Rush at that arcade down the street all the time. I haven't been back since-"

"The accident," Aunt Cass says sadly, "I know honey. I know. But there is nothing we can do but hope that they find that lying sneaky man and her daughter."

Hiro nods his head, sympathizing with her. He would go after this guy but one, Aunt Cass has no idea that he is a part of a team that takes down super villains and two, his team would never go for it. Everything lately has become about taking down PixelChick. But of all times… why now is this missing girl and arcade game such a big deal? It almost didn't seem like a coincidence.

"Go ahead and go upstairs," Cass says dismissing Hiro, "Those new sleeping pills work fast! I am going to bed. Goodnight Hiro!"

Hiro laughs as Aunt Cass exits the kitchen and turns left to enter her room.

"Goodnight Aunt Cass," Hiro says darting upstairs to his room.

Hiro ascends the stairs and immediately takes a left, not bothering to go anywhere near the closed dividers to his right. He rarely goes in there after Tadashi was killed in a fire.

His bed stood alone next to a desk full of junk. He has been trying to come up with new project ideas for his next assignment at SFIT, but his big brain can't think of anything. Hiro _was_ planning on working on the project since he had been out with the others earlier, but now he couldn't stop thinking about this woman. Why has Aunt Cass never brought this up before? Why is this the first time he is seeing this woman in such a long time? And who names their child Vanellope?

Hiro clicks on his computer and begins to look up the history of the game Sugar Rush. He scans through article after article but cannot find any information of a man under the last name of Schweetzeneger. It is almost as if this man has dropped off the face of the Earth. Hiro doesn't blame him. If he were to have stolen his own child and debuted a 4.7 billion dollar arcade game, he would be hiding too.

Finally he stumbles across the character that is supposedly based off of this little girl. Vanellope Von Schweetz. Hiro snickers a bit at the younger Vanellope with candy in her hair and a goofy grin on her face. The teenage Vanellope from 2.0 however... She is a different story. Hiro actually has to do a double take. _That is serious HD quality_ , Hiro finds himself thinking. The 2.0 version looks so real it's scary. She looks more real than the other characters.

The new Vanellope's hair is down and she was wearing a teal crop top with the words Sugar Rush plastered on front and she had on a black jacket. She is wearing a high waisted black pleated skirt and wore teal and white stripped leggings. Her boots are ankle high and have spiked straps. In most of the pictures she has on a long, flowing pink dress and a tiara.

Hiro shakes his head and powers down his computer. He figures if he is so curious about this whole situation, maybe he will do a little digging on the side. He hasn't been to the arcade in a long time, and it will get his mind off of PixelChick.

Then it hits him like a brick. PixelChick has been raiding arcades, stealing nothing, and ruining the machines. But his brain suddenly thinks about the location of each arcade. His mental mind map opens and Hiro's mind begins to work overtime. He pulls up a map of San Fransoyko.

"Aww man," Hiro says mentally marking where all of PixelChicks rampages have occurred. They follow a swirling motion like a lollipop. She is starting from the outer edges of the city and working her way in. Like a bullet, Hiro types in the word 'arcade' watching as the map brings up every arcade within and around the city limits. PixelChick is spiraling inwards towards the heart of the city and Hiro now knows the next Arcade to be hit. It is going to be the one him and Tadashi used to go to. Double O Finn's was about to be raided.

"Vanellope! What are you doing?!" A girl with short blond hair calls.

She looks down into the candy track ditch shaking her head. The air smells sour and she rolls her eyes, glaring down at the sour gummy earth worms scooching around her feet. She is wearing a pink gumdrop baseball cap and had a red lollipop in her hand. Her pink and red shirt drapes off her right shoulder and her jeans were ripped at the knees. Her pink high tops dazzle in the snow cone sun. The teenage girl adjusts her hat, protecting her white skin from the sun.

"Get off my back, Taffyta!" Another teenage girl shouts, her hair jet black and streaked with teal. Her hair extended all the way down her back, stopping at the top of her tail bone. She has on a teal romper and a black spiked jacket. One thing she never changes is her shoes. She can never go without her black, ankle high spiked boots.

"Come on, Vanilla! You are the president! You aren't supposed to be LOSING!" Taffyta glares, "I don't understand what your problem is. Do we need to make you a better bike? All we have to do is go to the factory and—"

"Okay the cars were WAY easier to ride than the bikes!" Vanellope argues, picking up her graham cracker bike with licorice as the exhausts and hard chocolate handles. The wind shield is made out of a thin, hardened sugar coat and the wheels are two jawbreakers.

"It's in your code Vanellope! it's not supposed to be easier or harder," Taffyta raises an eyebrow, "Look, Double O Finn's Arcade debuts Sugar Rush 2.0 TOMORROW. You are the star player! How is that going to look on us if the main character isn't on the day's roster?"

"Hey I still think there is something weird going on," Vanellope states, dragging her oversized bike back up the chocolate ice cream hill and over to where Taffyta is standing.

"How is this weird?" Taffyta rants, "We got an upgrade. You should be happy they didn't unplug us. How weird would it be running into someone that looks exactly like you?"

"You don't think it's weird that we started growing with the game?" Vanellope asks, "After the reset when Turbo took over our game, everything got out of whack. ."

"Okay I admit that was weird. We started aging pretty much after that moment. Almost like Turbo had froze us or something.," Taffyta frowns, "But that's why our game is so unique. We had the Dance Dance Revolution dancers dig up some info. This is the original Sugar Rush console. We grow with the generation we started with and then they will reprogram us when it's time for the new generation."

"But who is THEY Taffyta?" Vanellope asks. Taffyta grabs her Vanellope by the hand, puts her lollipop in her mouth and points towards the sky. There is a giant see through screen where they can see into the outside world.

"The first person racer. Come on Van, you know this! You know why we do what we do. We race so that THEY can have fun. And in exchange, THEY keep us alive. It's how it works and it is how it always will. Why did they have to give you such a complex code?"

"Why did they give you such a big mouth?" Vanellope snaps back. The two of them share a laugh together.

"Well they may have given me a big mouth but I also have my fashion sense, and you for a best friend," Taffyta smirks, "it's a gift!"

"Taffyta! Vanellope!" Another girl's voice calls. She has on a cream hat with brown outlines and a brown heart on her large baseball cap. She has caramel colored skin and shoulder length dark brown hair. She has on knee high brown boots and a chocolate colored leather jacket. Her shirt and skirt are both cream colored.

"Crumbelina di Carmello," Taffyta rolls her eyes, "What could you possibly want?"

"Oh I could name a couple things I want right now, blondie," Crumbelina glares at her.

"She's just kidding Lina," Vanellope hops in, "What's crackalackin'?"

"Well some of the other racers and I were headed into Grand Central Station because we heard that there is going to be a mad party going on over in Dance Dance Revolution World Tour, but we decided we were going to stop at Tappers and get something to eat. Have you ever tried food besides candy? It has a funny taste but it is super appetizing-"

"Was there a point to this story, Lina?" Taffyta sneers.

"I was getting to that, thank you and very much," Lina glares, "Anyway we walked out of Sugar Rush when all of a sudden there was this massive power surge! What I'm trying to say is… I mean… What I AM saying is… let's just say our game isn't the only one going to be generating some buzz tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?" Vanellope asks skeptically.

"There's a new game. It's called Tron. It's supposedly the last machine left in the entire world. What's strange is that this one is locked. There is no way to get inside the game and it doesn't look like anyone is getting out. But there's something else…"

"Something else?" Vanellope prompts her to continue.

"Well… we don't get new games very often… but when we do, comes a little trouble make-"

"PixelChick is back," Taffyta crosses her arms, "Vanellope let's go. Lina you got your bike?"

"Never leave without it Taf," Lina smiles.

"Taffyta, grab Candlehead and Rancis and meet us out in Grand Central Station." Vanellope says grabbing her teal helmet and swinging her leg over her bike. She revs it's engine and listens to it roar, "PixelChick is not sticking around this time."


	2. Defense Mechanism

"No way," Gogo says, popping a piece of gum in her mouth, "I am not spending my day in some cruddy old arcade just waiting for Pixel Chick to attack. That is not how I roll."

The gang sat in the only round window seat in Aunt Cass's café. There is a surplus of donuts, pastries, and coffee on the table. Hiro felt pretty ridiculous asking his only friends to go to the arcade with him. He knows that the only reason they would want to go to an arcade is to capture Pixel Chick. They wouldn't be interested in investigating a video game that would probably result in a dead end. Regardless, researching Sugar Rush had given him the perfect idea for his SFIT project. He had spent all night putting the idea on paper, and researching information.

"Okay, you didn't even hear me out." Hiro puts his head on the table.

"Right," Wasabi says with a doughnut in his hand, "Because a bunch of twenty two year olds going to the arcade is not suspicious at all."

"Hiro, I hate to admit it, but they're right," Honey Lemon says in a soft voice, "With all of the arcades being robbed, if we go, it may look like we are the ones behind it."

Hiro hadn't thought about that. Technically, Hiro is about to turn 18 so it would seem more normal for him to go alone, but it wouldn't be any fun with just Baymax standing behind him.

"Look I found a new angle," Hiro says, capturing their attention, "It's like I said. I know where Pixel Chick is going to strike. I just don't know why. Maybe if we go, we can find something out of the ordinary. Something she may want."

"Oooh! I get it! Go undercover as ourselves and then BAM! Take out the bad guy!" Fred says using his croissant as a representational figure. He bangs it on the table to signify Pixel Chick's capture. The others shush him, stealing glances at the other few in the shop.

"What about your SFIT project?" Gogo reminds him, "Last time I checked you hadn't even started it."

"I got the logistics of the project done last night. When I finish it is going to be sick!" Hiro laughs.

"Sickness? I do not detect any health problems, Hiro. Your levels are normal." A robotic voice says next to him. The group laughs at Baymax.

"No Baymax, it's an expression. When I say something is going to be sick I didn't mean physically. It's like saying something is going to be awesome." Hiro explains.

"The slang for 'sick' has been added to my vocabulary." Baymax says. The others giggle at Baymax.

"So what is your project?" Wasabi asks finally.

"I designed these little robots that work like Pixel Chick's powers. I came up with the idea after re watching the footage from our last battle. I got to thinking that if I could replicate her power to change everyday items into a code that disappears into the atmosphere WITHOUT harming the ozone layer, then it would revolutionize the way we take care of trash and toxic waste," Hiro explains, "And I know it would be hard to keep that kind of tech from getting into the wrong hands, but it would be a huge help for the planet."

"That's such a wonderful idea!" Honey Lemon exclaims.

"Yeah great, now about the arcade," Hiro says again, the others groaning, "Guys I am serious! Think of it as a birthday present."

"So you want Wasabi to take the day off of running a thirteen billion dollar science lab, Honey Lemon to take off of work at Krei Tech industries, and me take a day off from training for the next World Series Bike Races just to go to the arcade?"

"Precisely," Hiro smirked, "It all depends on if you guys are in or out."

The group exchange glances, all afraid of how ridiculous they are going to look. The truth was that none of them were afraid of having a little fun. They were kids by heart, always wanting to have fun. That's what made the jobs they chose so interesting. They were doing what they loved by day, and by night they got to help fight supervillains and save the world (Except Fred. Fred lived and breathed to be a superhero). Gogo and the others wouldn't admit it, but they needed the day off.

"Fine," Gogo finally says after about a minute of silence, "We'll go to the arcade tomorrow. But there better be pizza and cake."

"Per the norm," Hiro laughs, "There is a new biking game that I think you might like. They gave it an upgrade and I heard it is supposed to be one of the best racing arcade games of the century."

"Is that so?" Gogo smiles, "What's it called?"

Hiro smiles back, knowing very well that the theme would make her want to gag, "Sugar Rush 2.0"

* * *

 **THAT NIGHT**

Vanellope puts her bike in park and hops off putting it in park by the exit to sugar rush. She was glad that the programmers kept the rainbow sour air-head bridge. It always made her feel like a princess—considering she already was one. Taffyta, Crumbelina, Francis and Candlehead give Vanellope a sideways smile signaling to her that they are ready for anything.

This isn't going to be the first time that they have had to face Pixel Chick. She was an annoying free code that jumped from arcade to arcade through the circuits. It was rumored that she has been game jumping in other arcades. Vanellope and her crew had stopped Pixel Chick once after she threatened to go Turbo. It was annoying being attacked for a second time. As they rode the tram to Grand Central Station, the group couldn't help but scowl. Pixel Chick had been close to destroying their game. Just as close as Turbo had gotten.

It bugged Vanellope. Why her game? Of course she knew Sugar Rush is an amazing game. Come on… Vanellope is a princess and they get to eat candy twenty four hours a day. Who wouldn't love the game?

"All right," Tafyta says as they hop off of the tram, preparing to enter Grand Central Station, "We get Pixel Chick out of here no matter what okay? Stay clear of her touch. Candle Head, did you bring your lighter?"

Candle Head snickers and holds up a little match in her right hand. The group give each other approving looks and Vanellope smiles. She gestures for them to follow her as they step into GCS. Vanellope's jaw drops as she notices the flickering sign across from Sugar Rush 2.0. The Tron sign flickered and flared. There were two MOD's (moderator guards) positioned at the entrance to Tron. There was a red laser fence blocking the entrance to Tron.

Other characters were huddled together in groups, hiding behind benches and signs. A wave of whispers fell over the crowd as the Sugar Rush crew emerge. Vanellope spots Ralph and Felix from Wreck-it-Ralph. Calhoun from Hero's Duty has her cybug tracker in one hand, her gun slung over her shoulder, and holding Felix's hand with her free hand. Vanellope shoots them a worried glance. They shrug at her and point towards Pixel Chick who was sitting on one of the benches in the area between Tron and Sugar Rush. Pixel Chick was sporting a full body fitted suit with white neon stripes lining her outfit. Her helmet matched her suit.

"You don't need the helmet Pixel," Vanellope glares, "Take it off."

Pixel Chick laughs, pulling her helmet off. Her hair is white as snow and is pulled into a high ponytail. Her hair extends down her back. Her hair was so long, it put Zero Suit Samus's hair to shame. Pixel Chick had a slim face to match her slim figure. Her eyes glow an electric blue and her lips were colored an ice blue.

"Obviously not," Pixel laughs, holding her helmet on her hip.

"What are you doing back, Pixel?" Crumbelina says stepping forward.

"Why do you think I'm back?" Pixel stands to her feet pointing back at the flaring sign, "I always come when new games get plugged in."

"I still don't understand why you do that," Vanellope says putting a hand on her head, "But why don't you get the _glitch_ out of here!"

"Careful with that language Vanilla," Pixel snickers, "Oh right, you hate that nickname don't you?"

"Just GO!" Vanellope says, "What's strange is that Central Control has been reporting losing contact with some of the arcade circuits. It's like they have disappeared off the face of the Earth. What's even stranger is that somehow, you ended up here right after we lost contact with the nearest arcade to the north."

"That," Pixel glares, "Is none of your business."

"What did you do Pix?" Taffyta butts in.

"I did what I had to do!" Pixel shouts.

"And what did you _have_ to do?" Vanellope asks.

"I had to shut the arcades down," Pixel stomps her foot, "You are such a hard headed program! You wont understand—"

"Understand what Pixel? Do you know how many arcades you destroyed? Is that why you are back? Is this supposed to be game over for us to?" Candle Head says with such an edge in her voice, the others turn to look at her. Candle Head normally isn't so outspoken.

"Don't worry, I won't harm this arcade. The damage has already been done," Pixel Chick says.

"What DAMAGE Pixel? Stop speaking in riddles and tell us what's going on!" Vanellope shouts.

"No, she needs to leave," Ralph says suddenly, Felix holding out a hand to stop him, "You need to leave."

"Tough nuts," Pixel Chick says, "I CAN'T leave this time! Believe it or not, I'm stuck here. I can't go anywhere outside of this arcade!"

"Why?"

"Because my game just got plugged in," Pixel chick says with such ferocity that it sounds as if GCS had shut down.

"Pixel," Vanellope says quietly, "You have no game."

"Wrong," Pixel Chick says, "I do. Tron is my game."

Vanellope looks between Tron and Pixel, not understanding. Why would Pixel not be with her game? It doesn't make any sense to her. Pixel was a rare character. She could pass between the first person gaming world and the world inside the games. She could go into any game she wanted and jump between Arcade's through the electrical wires. Pixel was the daughter of code and electricity itself. There is no way she was born from an arcade game.

Vanellope took a step back, at a loss for words, "I don't understand. Tron is your game?"

"Yes it is," Pixel responds.

"Then why aren't you in it? And why is it locked?" One of the MODs call from the entrance.

"It's locked because I locked it," Pixel says turning to face them. She points towards the entrance to Tron as she talks, "I changed the code so no one gets in or out except me. That is the last Tron arcade game in the world."

"The last one? How is that possible? Consoles are sold by the dozens—"

"Because Tron wasn't meant to be a game!" Pixel glares at Rancis. "The Tron arcade game was derived from a malicious computer program. I locked it to stop whoever is in there from getting out."

"Like a Cybug?" Calhoun steps in, "Look if it's a bug problem I can snuff it out no problem."

"Ten times worse. Look I would unlock the game and go back… I truly would," Pixel admits, "However, there are some people in there that I am not exactly in sync with."

"Well it shouldn't matter, you just go in, do your game and hide from them right?" Taffyta says, not buying what Pixel is dishing out.

"Funny thing about Tron," Pixel seems to consider Taffyta's words, "Since it isn't all just programming and code, if you die inside Tron, you don't regenerate."

"What? Everyone regenerates inside their game!"

"Not in Tron you don't," Pixel says, "Look, I don't know what else to say but I can't go back."

"But you can't stay here either so…" Vanellope says rolling her eyes and crossing her arms.

"I can't leave!" Pixel says, "Unfortunately Tron is a threat that needs constant supervision and I am the best one to do it."

"You? Yeah great, whatever. We can handle ourselves. We don't need you Pixel," Vanellope shouts. Pixel suddenly blows her top she starts shouting incomplete sentences, truly annoyed with Vanellope's incompetence.

"Why you little…. Oh I can't even!... Why does no one listen to me? I try so hard to… ugh! The orders were simple! Protect… but they are being so stubborn! Argh…. Alllghhh!" Pixel mutters kicking a table out of the way.

"Protect who?" Vanellope says recalling what she had said.

"Protect THIS Sugar Rush console! Not any of the other Sugar Rush consoles on the entire planet! I am supposed to protect THIS one! But you guys don't want my help!"

"You tried to go Turbo!" Taffyta shouted.

"To PROTECT you! The others would have been just for fun," Pixel glares, still fuming.

"Who sent you?" Vanellope asks. Pixel stops and stares at her.

"Can't tell you that information," Pixel stops putting a hand on her head, "Look, don't say I didn't warn you. But I'll always be watching. I'll leave for now, but I will always come back. Watch your backs Sugar Rush. In fact, EVERYONE better be careful."

"We don't need your help Pixel," Vanellope says finally after a few seconds of silence.

"But you will," Pixel says putting her helmet back on. Her feet began to turn to pixels as she transports herself out of GCS, "Oh trust me, you will."

The remaining characters in GCS begin to scatter, going about their business and gossiping as they do. Some eye Tron suspiciously, wondering what Pixel was talking about. Ralph and Fix it Felix walk towards the Sugar Rushers. Bad guys were no longer totally feared. They could walk freely without people running for the hills.

"You okay kid?" Ralph asks approaching.

"Do I look okay?" Vanellope says with a scowl, "I hate her so much! Nothing she says makes any sense."

"I think the scary part is that almost everything she said made sense," Felix puts his hands on his hips, "Besides the protecting you part. She didn't explain why and who ordered her to do it."

"I can't think of this anymore. What time is it?" Vanellope asks Ralph. He turns towards the giant clock in the middle of Grand Central Station.

"It's close to two a.m." Ralph responds.

"Van," Taffyta puts a hand on her shoulder, "The arcade opens in a couple hours. We all need to practice and we need to have the race that determines the roster."

Vanellope looks down at her feet and back at the rest of her team. They were patiently waiting her instruction, all too dumbfounded by Pixel Chick to say anything.

"Okay," Vanellope puts her hands up, "Fine. Let's just forget this for now. It's time to race."

"So," Ralph says with a giant smile on his face.

Vanellope looks between Ralph and Felix, a small grin appearing on her face, "I know that face. What do you want?"

"As your best game buddies," Felix starts with a smug look on his face, "It would be customary for us to—"

"You want a sneak peak of Sugar Rush 2.0," Vanellope laughs, "Come on. You guys can watch the roster race."

Ralph and Felix high five each other and hop on the tram that leads back to their game. Vanellope fiddles with the candy in her hair. Letting her hair down and shaking it out Taffyta hands her a piece of licorice to use as a headband.

"Thanks Taff," Vanellope says as she steps out of the tram. They reach for their bikes, speeding off down the hill back towards the race track. Ralph and Felix take the long way, walking side by side down the candy cat walk.

"What do you think Pixel meant by Protect Sugar Rush?" Taffyta screams over the wind.

"I wish I knew," Vanellope responds loudly, then repeating it quietly to herself, "Boy I wish I knew."


	3. Awakening

"Okay are you guys ready to see this?" Hiro says as the team stand on the far side of Hiro's lab. He looks like he hasn't gotten a wink of sleep and there are empty energy drinks filling the trash can.

"Hiro, it is six in the morning!" Wasabi says, yawning.

"But the arcade opens at eight so right now is the best time to show you guys! I was up all night working on it!" Hiro says with enthusiasm.

"Clearly, you have had one too many energy drinks," Gogo smirks.

"I am so excited!" Fred says with a giant smile on his face. Honey Lemon nods in anticipation. Wasabi and Gogo lean on his desk intently watching the device Hiro is holding in his hand. It looks like a taser. There is a single button in the middle and Hiro's thumb hovers over it.

"Okay guys, feast your eyes on this. Baymax?" Hiro calls. Baymax turns towards Hiro with a can in his hand. Baymax raises the can high into the air and lets go. Hiro acts fast pointing at the can. Before it reaches the ground, Hiro presses the button. A laser shoots from the tips but instead of shooting where Hiro had pointed, the laser swivels right, hitting a picture of Aunt cass that is right next to Wasabi's face. Wasabi shrieks as the picture turns to code.

Hiro looks down at the device and turns it over. "Huh that's odd."

"Odd? That could've been me!" Wasabi says holding his chest.

"Uh, Hiro?" Gogo says pointing at something behind him, "Wanna explain that?"

"What?" Hiro says raising an eyebrow. The others gasp, noticing what Gogo is pointing to. Hiro turns and sees the picture lying next to the door, unharmed. Hiro walks over to it and cautiously picks it up. He turns it over, examining it.

"Whoa! Teleportation! That is way cooler than the trash thing," Fred says.

"It must be some kind of glitch," Hiro says walking over to his computer.

"You'll get it!" Honey Lemon says, "But you will have to do it soon you only have two weeks left to get it done."

"I know, I know," Hiro says placing the remote back on his desk, "I just don't know why I can never get it right. I really thought I had it this time."

"You'll find the inspiration," Wasabi says, "No doubt! Heck, I believe almost killing me with that thing is inspiration enough!"

The group laughs at Wasabi who was definitely not joking.

"Alright Baymax, I am satisfied with my care," Hiro says turning towards the balloon giant. Without a word, Baymax hobbles over to his box and de-activates.

"Has Baymax been acting a little weird to you?" Gogo suddenly asks.

Hiro looks between Baymax and the group before shaking his head, "I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. But don't worry about it. Let's get to the arcade so we can make the opening."

Hiro and the gang chat all the way to the arcade near Hiro's home. They gasp as they stand in the parking lot near the arcade. There are almost no parking spots left and there is a huge line in front of the arcade doors. It is obvious that people have been looking forward to the opening of this game for a long time. The gang shouldn't feel too bad about their age. There are quite a few people there that look like they are close to seventy years old.

"All of this for some racing game?" Honey Lemon says what everyone is thinking.

"Uh duh," They hear a voice call behind them. They turn around and see a young woman with long white hair pulled into a ponytail. She has on jeans and a white Disney hoodie. "This arcade is about to become the new racing hub."

"What do you mean?" Gogo says interested now.

"They upgraded Sugar Rush and added one of the last Tron games on the planet. I hear that they amped up the game with new 3D effects. I've always wanted to ride of those bikes!"

"So, two games? I still don't see the point," Gogo shrugs. Hiro glares at her and turns back to the girl.

"You said racing hub?" Hiro presses forward.

"Yeah. With all of the other arcades closed, lots of people are coming here in order to get their racing fix. Wouldn't be surprised if those arcade maniacs that hog the machines started coming here. It has the coolest games here."

Hiro hasn't been here in so long, he has forgotten what it must be like. Sugar Rush probably isn't the only game that has gotten an upgrade.The second the clock hits eight, the doors open and the crowd floods in. As to be expected, everyone rushes for Sugar Rush. The old man who opens the door is knocked to the floor as the crowd floods the three story arcade. Hiro instinctively offers the man his hand and he grunts as Hiro's strength hoists him off of the floor.

"Whoa! What a strong gras—Hiro?" The man says with a smile, "Well I'll be! I haven't seen you in years! Look how big you've gotten!"

"Hi Mr. Litwhack," Hiro smiles, "These are my friends Wasabi, Gogo, Fred, and Honey Lemon."

"Nice to meet you all!" Mr. Litwhack says gesturing to the girl next to them, "Welcome back Glitch!"

The group turn to the girl with the white hair. Glitch smiles and salutes him.

"Hey Litwhack! I'm going to go see if I can get in line to play Sugar Rush. Do you know which racers are on the roster?" Glitch asks starting to walk away from the group. To Hiro, there is something about the way the girl walks that is familiar. She looks about twenty-one or twenty-two..

"Yeah! I logged them on the way here. Vanellope is on the roster, per the norm. I saw Taffyta, Rancis, Crumbelina, and a few others, but I forgot their names!" Litwhack says.

"Which racers are the best options?" Glitch raises an eyebrow with a sly smile on her face, "You can't tell me you haven't looked at the bike stats."

"Your best bet is either The Swizzler or Spearmint," Litwhack winks at her.

"It was nice to meet you guys," Glitch says before walking off.

"Glitch?" Honey Lemon says watching her leave.

"Isn't she a sweet heart? Been coming here since she was a kid. Never met her parents, but she comes here all the time. Goes from arcade to arcade then reports back to me what's popular and what's not. She's like a daughter to me you know?"

"But where did she get the name glitch?" Gogo asks.

"Oh yeah! There was one time she was the only person in the arcade and all of the machines went nuts! I thought all the machines had broken and somehow she fixed them right up. I asked her how she fixed it, and she said it was nothing but a Glitch! I've called her Glitch ever since. She took to the name and now everyone calls her that," Litwhack smiles, "Now why don't you kids… uh… young adults go have fun? That's why you are here!"

"Yeah come on Hiro!" Fred says, "I think I see a Galaga game two stories up! It is time to annihilate!"

"Oh boy," Wasabi shakes his head, "We are going to be here all day at this rate."

"I think that was kind of the point," Gogo says, "You guys go have fun. I'm going to stay and see about playing that Tron game. Sugar Rush isn't my style."

"I'll give Sugar Rush a shot!" Honey Lemon says. She turns towards the Sugar Rush consoles and frowns. There are twelve consoles and they are all full with people. A line is forming behind them. "If I even get a chance to play that is."

"Don't worry," Hiro says, "I'll wait with you. Bye Mr. Litwhack!"

"Bye Hiro!" Mr. Litwhack waves to them.

Hiro walks to the back of the line with Honey Lemon. They can see the bikes move and shake as the race begins. The players shout with joy. Hiro looks down at the platform the bikes are on and notice that they the platform moves. The bikes themselves work by the players reving the engine and tilting their bodies left to right. The moving platform is just a bonus. The screen is in high def, making the interface much more appealing to look at. The race track suddenly changes and it begins to rain cotton candy.

 _Man, if only Tadashi would've been here to see this._ Hiro thinks as the line moves a bit further. The line is at least thirty minutes long. But with every race, the more excited he gets.

* * *

"You okay Van?" Taffyta offers Vanellope her hand. It had been only two minutes and they already have another quarter alert.

"These people don't know how to race!" Vanellope cracks her back, "Especially the adults! Where did they learn how to drive? Did they learn how to drive in a school for BLIND PEOPLE?"

"I think that is an understatement. It's that dumb platform they put in," Taffyta rolls her eyes, "It's too hard for people to use."

"Great," Vanellope rolls her eyes hearing a voice boom signaling a quarter alert, "I wonder what doof I have this time."

Vanellope and Taffyta hop on their bikes and drive back through the chocolate course to the starting line. The players are picking their avatars. Each of the racers have a robot in front of them showing the first person racers. From a distance they hear Minty Zaki laugh at her player. She has an older gentleman with a baby strapped to his chest.

Vanellope looks at hers and cocks her head to the side.

"Hey Taf," Vanellope says looking at Taffyta, "does he look familiar to you?"

The guy looks about 18 or 19. He has messy black hair and looks Japanese American. His dark brown eyes are soothing. Almost alluring. But she remembers him from somewhere. Wasn't there a teenager that used to play their game that looked exactly like this guy but with a hat?"Almost looks like a grown up version of that one kid that would always choose Swizzle," Taffyta nods, "Could be him. But you never know, Van. We get a lot of people that come in and out of these parts y'know?"

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Candlehead says, "right now let's just hope these next few racers can race. If I fall out one more time I am going to take over as the first person player or I am going to pretend I have pixlexia."

The other racers laugh at Candlehead. None of the racers have had much luck with people who can control their game and the arcade has been open for two hours. They hear a ding and the sound of their Sugar Rush theme song. It was show time. Vanellope flashes her best smile at the guy eagerly waiting to play.

"I'm the ruler of this place!" Vanellope says to the robot, "It's only fair that I be the one to win!"

Seeing the guy on the bike smirk made her smile. She hops onto her bike and watches as the track in front of her transforms from the ChocoLand track to the Ice Cream Dream track. Instantly it begins to snow icy sugar crystals. Vanellope flashes a thumbs up to the robot displaying the first person's image.

 _Please don't drive me off the track, please don't drive me off the track!_ Vanellope thinks as the grip on her bike tightens. She relaxes and lets the player take over as a loud _GO!_ booms through the land.

She watches in horror as Taffyta's bike puffs smoke, her player receiving a penalty for revving the engine before the race starts. To her left, Crumbelina is just a few inches from scraping her bike against the cookie dough ice cream fence, threatening her bike to break at any second. Candlehead is swerving out of control in front of her. To Vanellope's surprise, the guy controlling her is having no troubles at all.

She feels the player make a hard jerk to the right, causing her to be the first racer to figure out how to drift since the Sugar Rush upgrade. The road is icy but he stabilizes quickly and cranks the gas. He runs into an item box and is given an ice cream cannon. The cannons are let loose behind her. Her hand vibrates signaling that she hit someone and it was time for her to cheer. She pumps her fist in the air and back down to continue the race.

Vanellope remembers why she despises this track as they ride into a large tunnel. The tunnel is a frozen cinnamon straw. Cinnamon is not Vanellope's favorite unless it has sugar. The cinnamon slows the bikes down but increases stability for a fraction of a second. Her player shifts to the right as she exits the cinnamon stick and is popped into the air by a popsicle. there are four more frozen pops in front of her that her player is going to need to land on the popsicles to keep from falling out.

Vanellope helps him out a little by leaning more in the direction of the next pop as it pops her into the air. She feels him pull back on her bike triggering her air combo move. She lifts herself off the bike, strikes a pose and sits back down just in time to hit the last Popsicle. Once again, he triggers her combo move, this time cause the bike to spin 360 and back down onto the icy track towards the finish line.

"Lap one down, two to go!" Vanellope says to her first person rider, having had the best lap of her life since Sugar Rush 2.0 was programmed. _Come on kid, we got this!_

Vanellope finishes first in such a lead that she has to cheer for a whole minute and a half. It takes the other racers four minutes to cross the finish line and somehow, she had only taken two minutes and fifty seconds. This kid had set a new high score! Rancis comes in second. Vanellope is still watching her player as discreetly as possible. He has been staring at her the entire game like no one else has before. It almost feels as if he knows her

"Hiro! That was awesome! I came in third!" A young woman's voice says. It is coming from Taffyta's user. Vanellope listens carefully as her player responds.

"You're looking at the guy who just set the high score!" He responds with a playful smile, "I'm sure Gogo could beat it."

"How did you get such a good score?" Honey Lemon gasps, "My bike was going all over the place!"

"Vanellope's bike has the best stats for the track they chose. All you had to do was match the intensity level of the course with the right bike. The harder a course is, the more stability is going to matter more than speed." Hiro shrugs. Vanellope is impressed, and it pains her that she can't tell him that.

Finally, they hear the ending credits and Vanellope, Rancis, and Taffyta are lifted into the air for their final rewards. They spin in circles around each other and then a floating gold trophy flies towards Vanellope, a silver trophy flies towards Rancis and a bronze trophy flies towards Taffyta.

Vanellope flashes her new trophy and then leans on the trophy with a hand on her hip. Taffyta strikes a sexy pose, her hip sticking out and her hands drape behind her head, leaning against the trophy. Rancis crosses his arms and smirks, his thumb pointed towards the trophy as his ending pose. They hear a Game Over and the three are placed back on the floor. The trophy's turn into medals and are draped over their necks. A giant lollipop comes towards Vanellope and collects her golden medal to store in her coin vault.

"That was insane!" Crumbelina rushes over to Vanellope as they wait for the game to reset. The reset takes about five minutes.

"Yeah that kid was great. I think I heard someone call him Hiro."

"I remember _that_ name," Swizzle says. Vanellope loves the way they changed his character. His voice is much deeper now, he always wears sunglasses, and he has a smooth way of talking. His walk is full of swag-definitely a lady killer when he lifts up his glasses and winks.

"How do you know him?"

"His older brother... Tadashi I think his name was. _Way_ back. Used to pick me all the time. Hiro would always choose either Vanellope or Ranster." Swizzle says with his arms crossed.

"Don't call me that," Rancis glares.

"Well he was definitely the first one to understand the mechanics of the game," Crumbelina says, "Too bad he isn't a program. He's cute."

Vanellope hits her and walks back to her bike. The next player is a little girl who is customizing her bike. Vanellope grimaces at the girl's choices. This time her bike has huge wheels and candy wings. The racers take a deep breathe as they see the robots flash a screen that reads deliver opening dialogue in three... two...

Hiro continues to look back at Suagr Rush 2.0, almost wishing there wasn't a line. The moving platform makes it feel like he is actually in the game. Gogo is going to love the way it feels like the bike is gliding. But looking at the large crowd around Tron, he figures the likilhood she is going to play Sugar Rush 2.0 is slim.

"That didn't take long," Honey Lemon laughs. There are a few adults placing bets on who can beat Gogo. Hiro reads the side of the console.

Tron's Champions: A Race Through The Grid

There are only two bikes. One bike has a red neon stripe and the other has a blue stripe. The blue stripe reminds him of Pixel Chick and he can't help but wonder. The bikes are electromagnet, hovering a little bit over the stand. Hiro stands behind a group of men and watches as Gogo's bike runs into the guy next to her causing his bike to spin out of control and Gogo crosses the finish line. The left side of the console cheers, taking money from the others.

"Anyone else wanna give it a shot?" Gogo smiles a sinister smile.

"I'll try," Hiro snickers putting a quarter in the blue bike's machine.

"You sly fox," Gogo punches him playfully in the arm, "get ready to have your butt kicked!"

"We'll see," Hiro says. The other men place their bets, most of them betting on Gogo. Gogo puts in a quarter and selects a track there was one left that she hadn't played-The Grid.

When the race first starts, Gogo and Hiro have to watch carefully. The grid has no borders, only lines to follow across the floor. They pay close attention, watching the floors for their turns. The turns are sharp and unpredictable. Hiro finds the Tron bikes harder to use than the Sugar Rush bikes.

Hiro and Gogo both run over a boost which speeds them further along. The two bikes are side by side. But then Hiro cranks back just a little bit and his bike accelerates, pulling him into first. On the next turn Gogo drifts giving her a small boost but not enough to catch up. Hiro crosses the finish line in first place. Gogo is astounded along with the crowd that had gathered behind them.

"You beat me?" Gogo says staring at the screen, "how?"

"I just saved up all my power and blasted it at once," Hiro shrugs, "It wasn't that hard."

Hiro looks back to the screen, expecting to receive a congratulations. But what they saw next surprises them. As to be expected, he has received an exceptional score but the next words read simply. "My two champions. I look forward to meeting you."

Hiro and Gogo exchange glances. Honey Lemon pops her head over Hiro's shoulder. She gasps as she reads the message.

"Creepy. I haven't gotten that message," Gogo says, "Okay I say we meet up with Fred and the other-"

"Litwhack!" Eight voices scream. They turn to see a crowd gathering around the Sugar Rush consoles. Glitch tugs on Litwhack's shirt sleeve.

"What is it?" Litwhack asks.

"It's the Sugar Rush consoles. They are glitching big time!" Glitch says with a shaky voice. Hiro looks over and sees the consoles flicker blue one by one. Hiro could've sworn he saw Vanellope react to the glitches but he shakes it off. Litwhack strides over to the consoles and examines them, Glitch following close behind.

"Well if there is something wrong with them, someone is going to have to come fix it. From my understanding these consoles should never be unplugged or reset. Hopefully the glitch stops for now."

"Uh Hiro?" They hear Wasabi's voice call from behind them, "What is Baymax doing here?"

"Wha!" Hiro gasps seeing Baymax walking towards the door. He stops at the entrance and waves at Hiro through the window. Fred and Wasabi have joined him downstairs, ready to take the others upstairs to play air hockey.

Hiro hurries to the door and lets him in. Baymax hobbles a few more steps and then stops, turning towards them.

"Hello, Hiro and friends," Baymax says, "I have come because I sensed danger."

"How did you activate?" Hiro furls his eyebrows circling Baymax, "You don't _sense_ danger."

"The enemy—identification Pixel Chick—is here," Baymax says.

"What?" Honey Lemon gasps. They see a few of the gamers turn towards the new commotion. Some look over the rails of the second and third floor. Others turn away from their games to watch the scene unfold. It occurs to the group of friends that they have to be careful. They couldn't risk exposing themselves as Big Hero Six.

"Might I suggest an anti-virus serum?"

"Baymax?" Hiro says holding out his hand, "Listen buddy I need you to go back home okay? Look I'll walk you."

"Negative," Baymax blinks his two robotic eyes. The others gasp and Hiro feels Honey Lemon put her hands on his shoulders.

"What do you mean negative? You can't do that," Hiro says his heart rate picking up.

"Hiro, what is wrong with Baymax?" Gogo asks taking a step back. Baymax holds up a points his finger at them. There is a needle that Hiro had installed a few weeks back which allows Baymax to inject simple medications if ever need be.

"Baymax! We don't need an anti-virus!" Hiro says taking a few more steps back. The arcade is watching them all carefully, marveling at the walking, talking marshmallow before them.

"This is a major glitch Hiro. Deactivate him, now!" Gogo says.

"Negative. Code 474," Baymax states aiming at Hiro's neck, "clear for fire."

"Baymax!" Hiro shouts. Before Baymax can move, Glitch leaps through the air and pulls Baymax to the ground. He smashes into a few Pac Man machines. She rolls onto her feet standing in front of Hiro and his friends. The arcade begins to file out, one guy trying to record. Baymax stands to his feet and blinks a few more times.

"You resisted my care. I am only trying to help," Baymax says.

"What is that thing?" Glitch asks, "you need to run."

"That's Baymax! I built him! I can't run!" Hiro shouts. Just as he does he feels something hit his neck. Fred and Wasabi show their discomfort as well. Glitch charges at Baymax at an incredible speed. She kicks him in the stomach, but she just bounces back across the floor. She tackles Gogo as another dart flies towards her and hits the elevator control panel.

Honey Lemon dodges Baymax, but she feels a sting in her leg. Hiro stands to his feet and watches as Baymax continues to target his friends. He tries to run to him but stops short when he hits Gogo and Glitch. Glitch quickly stands to her feet.

"Oh come on!" She shouts looking at her hands. They start to look like code and then return back to normal. Her figure begins to shift in and out of code. Glitch grabs her head as if trying to shake off the effects.

The team stands back and watches the display. Suddenly the glitching stops and she turns into a familiar villain they all know and dislike. PixelChick.

"No way," Gogo says as PixelChick straightens with her hands in fists.

"Wow! I did not see that coming!" Fred shouts, "this is really freaky but how cool!"

"It would be in your best interest," Pixel Chick speaks, "to let me destroy that... Baymax."

"Don't touch him!" Hiro says standing in front of him in fighting stance. Hiro knows that he can't do much without his suit. Nobody knew their identities. He can't expose himself now.

"I have not injured any human being. I do not understand the hostility." Baymax says.

"You call a code 474 not injuring anyone? Who do you all work for?" PixelChick demands. They can't see her face but they can all imagine the intense look on her face.

"Look I made him! We don't work for anyone!" Hiro says.

"Glitch?" Mr. Litwhack peeks around the corner.

"Litwhack," PixelChick turns to him. "It's not safe anymore. You must go. Find the one named Tadashi."

"Tadashi Hamada?" Hiro gasps, "H-he was my brother! He died a long time ago."

PixelChick looks back and forth between Litwhack and Hiro before shaking her head.

"Don't trust that thing... That Baymax of yours. You are all in danger. You have been injected with Code 474. Litwhack," PixelChick turns towards Mr. Litwhack, "the game named two of them champions. They are no longer safe. YOU are no longer safe."

"Glitch..." Litwhack tries.

"You must leave with them. I will take care of the arcade. Someone needs to stay and look after the arcade, and that someone is me. It is my duty. Take them and get as far away from the servers as possible. They will find you," PixelChick turns towards Hiro and his team, "Don't think for a second I don't know who you are Big Hero 6. Slash, the Destroyer, Reacto-Girl, Boomerang, Smash and Bash. Contrary to what you believe, I am not the enemy."

PixelChick glitches once more. She turns to Litwhack and bows her head and mutters, "Till I see you again." She backflips into the air and disappears, leaving behind a trail of code.

"Do you want to explain what just happened?" Wasabi says.

"Can you deactivate that thing?" Litwhack asks.

"At my house yes," Hiro nods.

"Hiro do you trust me?" Litwhack says.

"We would if you would just tell us WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Wasabi says frustrated and in a panic.

"Hiro already knows," Litwhack looks at Hiro, "but he was so young..."

Hiro looks over at the Sugar Rush console. All of the avatars are dormant since the players had up and left when Baymax was tossed by Glitch. Hiro thinks back to what his Aunt Cass had told him about the Schweetzenegers. He looks over at Vanellope sitting in her bike, ready to go.

"Mrs. Schweetzeneger's missing daughter," Hiro mumbles.

"Such a sweet little girl too," Litwhack says.

"Vanellope," Hiro's eyes widen, "Vanellope Von Schweeteneger! I remember her name!"

"Your brother spent a long time trying to track her down on his computer. Hacking into systems, but he just couldn't find the girl. But-"

"Vanellope is based off of the same girl? So that means she is alive?" Hiro asks, the gears in his mind turning.

"Hiro, Vanellope wasn't the only one," Litwhack says, "there were more than just Vanellope. Eleven children went missing the same time as Vanellope-"

"And there are a total of eleven sugar rush avatars," Honey Lemon nods, "You think all of the disappearances are connected."

"Tomorrow would've been Vanellope's birthday which also happens to be the fifteenth anniversary of her game," Litwhack nods.

"How old was Vanellope when she was taken?" Wasabi asks.

"Three," Litwhack and Hiro respond in unison.

"Fifteen and three makes eighteen," Hiro nods, "Sugar Rush 2.0 was supposed to be the characters depicted at age 18."

"None of this sounds like a coincidence," Gogo says.

"The probability of finding a solution is 32% with the current information." Baymax offers details.

"Hurry," Litwhack says ushering them towards the door, "let us deactivate Baymax and then we can talk. But not here. Not with HIM."

Litwhack locks the door behind him, not turning off a single console or light. He could tell the team is irked that they couldn't capture Pixel Chick. They should have been ready for anything.

"Oh Hiro!" Litwhack says, "Happy Birthday. You are turning 19 right?"

"Yeah," Hiro nods, "I can't believe you remembered."

"How could I forget? You and Tadashi were one of my best customers! Plus your birthday is a day before Vanellope's. You were a year older than her." Litwhack laughs as he follows the group into Aunt Cass's café.

"We'll get her back," Gogo says, "And we will figure out what's going on. We can promise you that."


	4. Plotting Defense

"Hiro, this isn't funny anymore!" Wasabi complains. The team and Litwhack are standing in Hiro's garage. Baymax refuses to deactivate. The team has been sent into a panic, none of them exactly knowing what to do.

"I-I don't know what's happening! I mean Baymax has never just… not deactivated when I told him. Baymax I am satisfied with my care!" Hiro says more forcefully this time. Again Baymax makes no move.

"His chip! Take out his chip!" Gogo instructs. Hiro frantically tries to open Baymax's port, but again, Baymax locks him out. Hiro bangs his hand on Baymax's stomach. It had been twenty minutes since Baymax had become unresponsive. He stopped talking altogether. He just stood there, looking more like a punching bag than a Health Care companion.

"This is not how I thought this day was gonna go," Litwhack puts a hand on his hip, "Today was supposed to have been a big day for the arcade! I knew things would have gone south when that Tron game got plugged in."

Hiro stops after Litwhack mentions Tron. He thinks back to what had happened at the arcade. He recalls the scene where Baymax had hit them all with some kind of serum. He has been so busy trying to get Baymax to deactivate, that he forgot to ask about whatever a code 474 is. And what about PixelChick? She turned to code right before their eyes! Litwhack had been working with her the whole time, and she has been the one destroying arcades.

"What was the code 474 that was injected into us?" Hiro finally turns to Litwhack. Instinctively, the team touch where they had been injected. Litwhack sighs and takes a seat on a worn down couch.

"Code 474, is a developer's html code that is specific to an arcade game," Litwhack starts.

"You must be talking about Tron," Honey Lemon says, "But that makes no sense! Computer codes aren't liquid."

"Look, Tron has a pretty rich history okay? There is a villain that the makers of the game had started calling the Clue. They had all thought he had died after a hero had supposedly shut down the game—"

"You're talking as if these characters are real," Gogo snickers.

"Because they are," Litwhack nods, "As real as you and me. You see, someone had accidentally found a way to be transported into the system… literally. He was stuck there and later his son Sam was lured into the game."

"But he got out right?" Fred asks, listening so intently that Hiro thought his eyes might pop out.

"Yes he did and brought a program with him. Of course, this was a special kind of program. She was an iso. An isolated program that was formed inside of the Grid. They were supposedly the key to everything, and of course that angered Clue. Clue had tried to kill all of the iso's but somehow she made it out."

"Don't tell me that the program that made it out is Pixel chick," Gogo puts a hand to her forehead.

"Actually, her offspring." Litwhack giggles a bit.

"Oh gosh, no! You don't mean her and that Sam guy—"

"Well, there isn't much else you can do it," Litwhack laughs, She's half human, half code. Taking Quora out of the game made it possible to mix code and human biology. The longer she spent out of the game, the more parts of her became human."

"Wait, so when we were all hit with the code 474—" Hiro starts to put the puzzle pieces together.

"You got it. A part of you guys is now code. It didn't affect Pixel much except mess with her current code. But since her biological code has been set for so long, the only thing that would mess with her is a Trojan." Litwhack sighs again.

"But none of this explains what's wrong with Baymax," Hiro shakes his head, "You can't inject anything into him without taking out the chip."

"But does he not work like a computer?" Litwhack shrugs.

"He's a robot! Everything put into him is through that chip," Hiro runs his fingers through his hair, "The only way that a Trojan could have gotten into the chip is when—"

"Didn't you take out his chip a couple days ago to recalibrate his frequencies?" Gogo asks him.

"Oh shoot," Hiro says, "I totally forgot about that."

"Did you notice anything weird?" Litwhack asks. Hiro immediately rushes to his computer, pulling up his last backup. He scrolls the programs installed, searching for anything out of the ordinary. He suddenly comes across an odd icon, one that he doesn't recognize. He clicks a few buttons, having his computer scan the item. A worm flashes across the screen and suddenly the four computer screens turn black.

"No, no, no!" Hiro says banging on the side of the computer systems. Hiro bangs on the desk, not knowing what to do.

The team spends the next hour quarreling. They had all begun to feel tired and bored, yet none of them could ignore the problem. Each one is sprawled out on either the floor, a couch, or a chair. Baymax still stands in the middle of the garage, unmoving, not saying a word.

Hiro stares at Baymax, wishing his best friend would move, or say something completely ridiculous. Every time he looks at Baymax, he sees his brother Tadashi. Right now, with Baymax "out of order" it felt like both him and Tadashi were dead. Hiro can't deny that Baymax had become a part of him one way or the other.

He looks around at his frustrated friends, knowing that he has to do something. Big Hero 6 have been there to protect and serve since the incident at Krei Tech Industries. There is no way they are going to give up. Hiro has never met a more determined group of people than the ones sitting in this garage. No matter what, they were going to figure out a way to fix this. Hiro made a promise to himself at that moment, that he would get Baymax back, no matter the cost.

When it seems like they are getting nowhere, Litwhack finally speaks up, helping them come to the only conclusion they could.

"Well, if there is one thing I know about code 474 is that you are all in danger by having it. For now you need to stay away from any kind of game servers and going anywhere near an arcade is a bad idea," Litwhack shakes his head, "That code was made from the same code that sent Flynn into the grid the first time."

"So that message, that named Hiro and I champions?" Gogo raises an eyebrow.

"That wasn't a regular congratulations and it certainly wasn't an invitation."

"It was a demand," Fred gasps, "They want to put you guys in the game! That is so cool! I can see it now… all of us in the game on a race against time! Either we win, or we die!"

"I fail to see how any of this is cool!" Wasabi says worried, "If the game only named Gogo and Hiro champions, why did it attack the rest of us?"

"Because of Big Hero 6. Tron was built more as a massive super computer program than a game. It can see everything, and my guess is that it has seen you all and has been watching you for a while," Litwhack says, "You work together. Only Gogo and Hiro had played the game. More than likely if the rest of you would have played, regardless of if you won or lost, you would've been named champions. Clue likes a good competition."

"But what I don't get, is that you said that Tron was shut down, broken! Kaput!" Hiro states.

"If you were a programmer for anything, what would be the first thing you do?" Litwhack asks.

"Backup the program," Honey Lemon nods, "Clue must have come out through a backup."

"Exactly," Litwhack snaps his fingers, "His sole purpose is to fix the human race, and he is going to do that one way or the other. They never backed up the last update so as far as Clue is concerned, Sam and the iso's never existed. Tron never became Rinzler, and Rinzler never died. It is imperative that it stay that way. If Clue ever found out that Sugar Rush existed, that the human race came to his world, he would destroy them all."

"When robots take over the world," Fred narrows his eyes, "This is just like a comic book I just finished reading the other day! The only way to destroy the source is from the inside."

"Not this time," Litwhack says, "We have to find that backup. It's our only chance at killing this thing once and for all."

"Wait, if the program was so dangerous," Wasabi speaks up, "Then why the heck did you plug in that game?"

"The Tron system was not supposed to have been associated with the games so I thought that the arcade game would be fine, but I was horribly mistaken," Litwhack sighs, "It seems to have done nothing but give Clue access to the best of players. By taking the best players in our world, he can annihilate them and resume his mission of building a better world, inside of servers, and outside of them."

Hiro realizes that he is in over his head. He is going to be fighting a massive super computer that wants to conquer the world and build a better one, plus a lunatic game developer that put his daughter and ten other children inside an arcade game. And even weirder, both are connected one way or the other. Not to mention, he still has to fix his SFIT project, and the others still have jobs to do. This kind of fight is going to take some time—time they apparently don't have.

"Don't worry Mr. Litwhack," Hiro says, "We can take Clue down and get back the Sugar Rush kids. All of the eleven children stolen. We'll find the backup and shut it down. I mean, how hard can this be?"

To be honest, Hiro knew this is going to be harder than he thought. Instantly he thought of poor Vanellope. He could feel the connection he had with her, but of course, at the time, he thought she was just a program. For all he knows, they could rescue all twelve sugar rush children, and they would be actual programs. For all any of them knew, Litwhack could be totally… well… whack! But he has to trust his instinct. And right now, he has friends to protect, friends to rescue, and a world to save. The world needed Big Hero 6, and it needed them all alive.

* * *

"Vanellope, what should we do?" Vanellope hears someone call from behind her, she recognizes the voice as Rancis.

"Um, I'm not sure! Is anybody riding?" Vanellope asks. After the glitch, their first person players had all left.

"Don't give such a vanilla answer, Vanilla!" Taffyta's voice calls, "Just hop off your bike, Princess! The coast is clear."

Vanellope reluctantly climbs off her bike. She can still feel the small pull of the controllers, but she ignores it walking towards the group of sugar rushers. All of the other eight racers for that day were in a panic, none of them knowing quite what had happened. Vanellope was used to glitching, but it was a new concept to the others. Vanellope still glitches for the fun of it.

All nine keep an eye on their bike cams, watching to see if someone might come back, but before they know it the timer is called and all of them are zapped to the finish line in a default finish. The group shudders, hating the feeling of not finishing a race.

"Okay, sooooooooooooo, I don't know, what just happened but uh… it wasn't good," Swizzle says in a relaxed manner.

"Take off those stupid sunglasses Swizzle! Of course it wasn't good! The whole game just glitched! Everyone ditched us in the middle of the race!" Taffyta has her hands on her hips, her face turning a candy apple red.

"Taffyta calm down!" Vanellope tries.

"I can't calm down! Why should I calm down?" Taffyta turns on Vanellope, "We're gonna be unplugged at this rate!"

"You are going to calm down because I am the president!" Vanellope shouts, causing a hush over the frazzled group, "Look, let's just go back to cookie castle. I can have the crew whip up some dessert, and we can discuss what happened in an ORDERLY manner while we wait for a quarter alert. Does that sound like a plan?"

No one objects to her plan, and Vanellope mounts her bike. She zips off, passing through the cotton candy forest, looking for the dual rivers, Carmel Dream river and Candy Coating Stream. They hear the sound of stomping against the graham cracker pavement as they pull up to Cookie Castle. Oreo guards march back and forth, forming a barrier to the entrance. Vanellope and the others dismount at the base of Cookie castle, putting their bikes in lock.

The Oreo guards march out of the way as Vanellope passes. She waves to them as she passes, swinging her hair back and forth. She glitches, changing from her racing gear into a teal and purple dress. It is short in the front, with a long train in the back. It has a sweetheart neckline and off the shoulder sleeves that stop at her elbows. Her shoes are candy high tops and she sports a black choker and a Sweet Tart bracelet. Together, the racers parade through the doors, Sour Bill, a warhead, leading them through the halls. Vanellope has to scold some of the others for trying to eat the Nilla Wafer chairs as they enter the great hall. A large Nutter Butter table takes up the length of the room as a table. The Nilla Wafer chairs surround the Nutter Butter table and each of the racers take their seats with Vanellope at the head of the table. Sour Bill comes beside her with a golden crown. Vanellope takes it and puts it atop her head, grinning from ear to ear.

The older she got, the more she didn't mind acting like a princess. She has come to embrace it. With the 2.0 upgrade, her new princess outfit was mind blowing. She loves how it is feminine but she can still move without pain and feeling weighed down by it.

"Okay, seriously," Taffyta complains, popping a forkful of Jell-O into her mouth, "It's been, like, forever since we've had a quarter alert."

"Maybe we ought to send someone out to Grand Central Station, check out the scene, and see what goes on," Vanellope says.

"Okay, who's going to go?" Candlehead speaks up.

"It's obvious," Vanellope shrugs, "There are Eleven of us, and only nine of us are on the roster. The nine on the rosters stay, the other two need to go find information. So that means Snowana, Gloyd, you guys go find help."

"What? No way! What if you guys glitch and we can't get back in?" Snowana complains. She swats Rancis's hand away as he tries to touch her rainbow afro.

"Snow, someone has to go. You and Gloyd didn't make it on the rosters last night," Vanellope sighs, picking up a spoonful of (ironically) vanilla ice cream. And leaning in her chair. She rocks it back slightly to put her feet on the table.

"I got it!" Crumbelina de Carmello shouts with a Sugar Daddy in her hand, "Let's send the Alternates!"

"You mean Whiplesnit, Brumblestain, FlugPucker, and BatterButter?" Vanellope raises an eyebrow, lowering her feet from the table. "I can give you fifteen reasons why that is soooo not a good idea. They are the alternates for a reason!"

"Van, it's the most logical thing to do!" Gloyd states.

"You're just saying that because you don't want to go, Gloyd," Vanellope rolls her eyes. Then a familiar voice resounds behind them.

"You don't need to send anybody," Pixel Chick's voice rings through the hall. Immediately, all eleven racers stand to their feet.

"What the… how did you get in here? Again!?" Vanellope says at the top of her lungs.

"Look calm down! Do you want to know what's going on or not?" Pixel Chick smashes her helmet on the table, letting her platinum blonde hair swing loose in its ponytail.

"We should've known you had something to do with it," Taffyta spits, "Any time something like this happens, it's because of you! So how'd you make the game glitch huh? Are you trying to get us unplugged?"

"Quite the opposite. Look, the glitch you experienced was just a natural miscoding problem. Don't worry though, because I found the Sugar Rush main system bank and I fixed i—"

"Wait a second," Vanellope narrows her eyes, "Sour Bill and I are the only ones who know where that is. We are the only ones who know the code to get in."

"Tough sugar, kid," Pixel Chick rolls her eyes, "The passcode is the same for almost every machine in the arcade. Plus, you should be thanking me. I fixed your game."

"Fixed it? It's been almost two hours and we haven't had a quarter alert," Minty Zaki crosses her arms, the chains on her bracelets and rings clanging together.

"Okay, again, that was not my fault," Pixel says, "There was an incident that happened on the other side of the screen. It chased everyone in the arcade off. Litwhack and I decided it would be best to leave the arcade in my hands."

The group erupt in a fit as Pixel talks. None of them have met Litwhack. The only thing they know about him is the few times they get to see him from the screen. He spends almost all of his time at the arcade and always takes care of the machines as if they are his children. Often he talks to them as if he knows they are real. Everyone loves the sweet old man, Litwhack. There is no way he left Pixel Chick to watch after them.

"Hold on everyone," Vanellope tries to calm the group, "Shut up for a second would ya? I can't hear myself think!"

"Vanellope—" Pixel starts.

"Does the rest of the arcade know what's going on?" Vanellope asks, "I'm assuming yes because of Genesis, the avatar in Dance Dance Revolution."

"Yes of course they know. I came here because I'm supposed to be—"

"Protecting us," Taffyta interrupts, "Protect us from what?"

Pixel bites her lip, "I don't know if I should tell you."

"If you should tell us? Or won't?" Candlehead sparks.

Pixel once again rolls her eyes. She picks up her helmet and starts walking towards the door. The group exchange glances before trailing after her.

"Pixel!" Vanellope shouts at her.

"You know what," Pixel says without stopping, "Everyone calls me that because it's my villain name."

"What the—" Vanellope tries again.

"What is so nice about not being me all the time, is that some people actually don't see me as the bad guy who may have tried to go Turbo, or destroyed the Grid, or the freak who accidentally, purposefully shut down multiple arcades." Pixel says half-heartedly.

"Pixel!" Vanellope shouts louder as they reach the throne room. Pixel stops to face Vanellope. For the first time, Vanellope did not see the eyes of a villain. She saw the eyes of someone who is lonely and anxious. Pixel takes a step back from Vanellope's gaze.

"Call me Glitch," Pixel says with sad eyes. Vanellope reaches out to grab her but she turns into pixel and code, disappearing before their eyes. Candlehead puts her hand on Vanellope's shoulder. The only thing any of them can do is stare at the place where Pixel… wait… Glitch used to be.

"Weeeeellllllllll, I'm going to just say that, that was reaaaaalllly weird," Swizzle comments with the tops of his eyes showing over his sunglasses and his hands in his pockets.

"Van," Taffyta says, "What should we do? If what Pixel—"

"Glitch," Vanellope interrupts with a distant voice, "Call her Glitch."

"Okay… _Glitch_. If what Glitch is saying is true, then we aren't going to be getting a quarter alert for the rest of the day. What are we supposed to do? Just wait around?"

"Not even remotely," Vanellope states the gears in her head turning, "Okay, if there are eleven of us… plus the alternates, that makes fifteen. Okay here is what's going to happen. Someone needs to find the alternates, and I will leave that job to Adorabezle Winterpop."

Adorabezle throws her hands in the air in defeat muttering complaints as she starts to walk away from the throne room. She yells back to Vanellope wondering where she should bring the alternates when they are found.

"Practice racing with them, and then bring them back here so Sour Bill can take care of them. We need to make sure everyone is accounted for just in case these glitches come back," Vanellope takes charge, "Okay Crumbelina, Minty, Swizzle, Taffyta, and Rancis. You five and I are going back to Grand Central Station to find out any information we can. Candlehead, Jubelina, Snowana, and Gloyd. You four need to gather all of the citizens and make sure they are aware of the situation. When Adorabezle comes back with the alternates, you guys are going to need to work with Sour Bill to prepare for the big race tonight and deal with any glitches. Got it?"

Everyone nods their agreement and Vanellope lets out a sigh of relief.

"Okay teams! Let's go!" The teams split up, leaving Crumbelina, Minty, Swizzle, Taffyta, Rancis, and Vanellope in the throne room.

"Van, you are making it seem like we aren't coming back," Crumbelina crosses her arm.

"Because she isn't expecting us to," Swizzle says in a mellow tone.

"What do you mean?" Taffyta glares at them, "Of course we're coming back! What's going to happen? I mean honestly people! This isn't a war."

"We don't know what we are dealing with," Rancis shrugs, "I mean, Van is right. Anything could happen."

"Guys look," Vanellope sighs, "The other games look up to us. It's kind of like our job to help out."

"Why does everyone always say that?" Minty says, always being one to process information slowly, "I don't understand what makes us so different."

"I don't either, but we're the ones who have suffered the worst and made it through the most," Vanellope says, "You heard Glitch. Our game is special. We have to protect it with everything we have."

The group stares at each other, no one wanting to speak. They all know that Vanellope is correct, but none of them knew truth is that they all felt like they didn't belong there.

"Are you guys in or not?" Vanellope says cautiously, noticing the sensitivity of this subject, "Because whether you guys come with me or not, I am leaving to go get some answers. Programs need to stick together. Am I right?"

The group exchange glances, each one breaking into a smile. Vanellope puts her hand in the center of their little circle, and one by one, the others put their hands in too.

"Sugar Rush on three? One, two, three!" Vanellope says and they all say Sugar Rush on cue. The group laughs, coming together in a group hug. Without even having to speak, they all yell fifteen to commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of their game.

"Alright, here's the game plan! Let's head over to Wreck-it-Ralph and see if Ralph and Felix know anything. Then we will get them and head over to Dance Dance Revolution."

"What about Hero's Duty?" Rancis shrugs, "Calhoun is such a busy body. If anything bad happens, she knows about it."

"Yeah but she is also one of the scariest NPCs in the whole freaking arcade," Vanellope laughs out loud, "The answer to that is heck no. I do not feel like getting tangled up with that Felix's wife. She's been mothering me lately like I'm her kid or something and it's getting on my last nerve. She treats me like a military brat. There is no way I'm telling her that there is something up."

"Touche," Rancis agrees. With their plan set in motion, the group exit the castle, hopping on their bikes. As they ride to the tram that will take them to GSC, feelings of anxiety and relaxation sweep over them. Vanellope can't put a finger on how she can feel anxious and relaxed at the same time, but she has a feeling that everything will turn out as it should be. But until then, they all should be very worried. Very worried indeed.


	5. Disappearance

"Um, got any Now-N-Laters?" Sticky Wipplesnet asks with a smile on her face. Cirtusella Flugpucker sits across from her, glaring at Sticky. Cirtusella's electric blue eyeshadow complements

"Go… fish." Citrusella says with as much sass as she can muster. Behind her Torvald BatterButter throws her hands up in frustration.

"I mean, what are we even doing here?" Torvald complains, brushing her short golden hair out of her face, "I hate this! The bunch of Alternates sitting around in a hut made out of Air Heads!"

"Don't forget the laffy taffy," Nougetsia Brumblestain points out from her position on their gum drop couch, "They get super annoyed if you forget about them."

"Are you kidding me?" Torvald rolls her eyes, "I'm sick of being an alternate! The others probably don't even know where we are."

"It's President Vanellope," Sticky shrugs, "She knows everything. I'm sure she knows where we are."

"No one even _bothered_ to come find us after the upgrade," Citrusella sighs, tossing the remainder of her candy hand at Sticky, "Look at my awesome new clothes! I look _amazing_ but _no one_ will ever _know!_ And why? Because pretty _princess_ thinks we are just the alternates."

"Its written in our code," Nougetsia says, straightening her bright pink mini skirt and matching shirt. She flips her brown hair over her shoulders and fixes her pink kitty cat headband.

"Written in our code to be failures? I don't think so," Torvald crosses her arms, popping her hip out, her golden leather pants groaning as she does, "We need to do something!"

"Like what genius?" Nougetsia puts her hands on her hips, "We can't leave the game. We'd have nowhere to go!"

"There's always somewhere to go," A sinister, deep voice calls. The four girls stand to their feet, huddling around each other.

"What was that?" Sticky asks, whipping her teal colored hair around.

"Don't worry," Torvald rolls her eyes, "It's probably those stupid Lollipop children again. What a nuisance."

They all jump back watching as code materializes out of thin air. It starts from the ground, working it's way up to form the shape of a person. Whoever it is, materialized wearing an all-black outfit with red neon lining. It reaches for its helmet, revealing a man with slicked back, black hair and beautiful grey eyes. The four girls' jaw drops as they stare in wonder.

"A nuisance huh? Well I'd say that is a strong word," He laughs winking at a starstruck Citrusella.

"Well hello," Citrusella says in her usual seductive way, "Where'd you come from handsome?"

"The question is Citrusella," He takes a step towards them, "Where do you want to go?"

Torvald and the gang exchange looks, none of them knowing quite what to say.

"Who are you?" Torvald asks, gesturing to his outfit, "Like, we don't know anyone who rolls with that outfit. Are you a product of a bonus round or something?"

"No," He sighs walking towards Citrusella, wiping a strand of her hair out of her face, "I'm here because you all are bonus characters. The most special of them all."

The others stand speechless as they watch Citrusella practically swoon.

"What is this, avoid questions day?" Sticky scoffs, "Who the heck are you? And we are alternates not bonus characters. There is no bonus level, sweet cheeks."

"Oh? Well I think you have been mistaken. You are not alternates. You are bonus characters and there is a bonus level," He steps back, looking each of them in the eye, "I'm a game program just like each of you. But I'm looking for a certain someone."

"Well you found the right place," Nougetsia smiles, "We pretty much know everything about everyone. We work in the background, gathering intel on every candy and every racer. Nothing happens here that we don't find out about."

"Cool," He snickers, "Then what about a program named Pixel Chick?"

Nougetsia gasps, following what everyone else was thinking.

"Our sources say that Sour Bill said that PixelChick was just here a couple hours ago," Torvald puts her hands on her hips, "Also said that her name is Glitch."

"Ah, she always did like that name." He sighs, "Any mention of where she's headed?"

"Not that we know of," Citrusella admits, "But we know where she's from. That Tron game across the way. It's locked. No one gets in, no one gets out."

"Wait, how do you know Glitch?" Torvald jumps in, "If she's from Tron, then that means you're—"

"From Tron as well," He smiles, "They call me Rinzler. I've been looking for Glitch for a while now. We're old pals you see."

"Well we wish you luck on your quest," Sticky spits.

"You know, I couldn't help but overhear that you all want out of here," Rinzler smiles, "I happen to have the perfect place. How about being the first in this arcade to see what Tron's all about?"

"What? Are you serious?" Nougetsia gasps, "We live for this kind of drama! Yes!"

"Only if I can be where you stay," Citrusella smirks.

"I live in the tallest building in Tron," Rinzler smiles, offering Citrusella his hand, "You all can stay with me. I have someone who would love to meet you four."

* * *

Hiro tosses and turns, every once in a while feeling a strange tingling in his arm. He glances over at his clock, only to read that it was midnight. Hiro finally stares at his ceiling, not able to get his mind off of Tadashi. Why had he never told him about Vanellope? He looks over at the red box where Baymax had been stored. He sighs, wondering where everything could have gone so wrong.

Hiro had been a mess without being able to use his computer. He wanted so desperately to look something up, work on his project, skype with his friends! But how could he when Litwhack instructed them all to stay away from game servers? Hiro can't help but wonder what the inside of Tron looks like. After hearing the story, he was both interested and afraid. Why did the program want the six of them? They weren't that big of a threat. But a threat to what?

Hiro sits up in his bed, realizing that there was no way he was going to sleep. From his bedroom, he can hear the honking of car horns in the distance. An ambulance speeds down the street in front of Aunt Cass's café making as much noise as possible. Hiro swings his legs over the bed, shivering as he walks over to Tadashi's side of the room. He stands in front of the screen, unable to open it.

If there was anyone who was more likely to keep a journal, it was Tadashi. Hiro knows better than anyone that if he was looking for Vanellope and the other children, he would have a research journal stashed somewhere. Hesitantly, Hiro pulls back Tadashi's shogi screen and walks towards his bookshelf. Hiro scans over some of the journals, having read most of them ten times over. He drags his fingers along the spines, looking for anything unusual. Finally, Hiro spies a box hidden behind a bigger box. Hiro laughs to himself, realizing that his brother knew Hiro wouldn't have thought to look for a box behind a box.

Hiro pulls out the bigger box and tosses it aside. The box behind it is decorated pink with yellow hearts scattered across it. Hiro raises an eyebrow and pulls it out onto the floor. He opens it carefully, gasping when he looks inside. There are pictures of Vanellope as a child along with newspaper articles regarding the disappearance. Hiro pulls out a picture of a man and Mrs. Schweetzenger with Vanellope in the center. Hiro studies the picture, and turns it over. On the back it read " _Thank you Tadashi!"_

"Thank you for what?" Hiro asks himself out loud. He can't recall Tadashi ever truly spending time with Vanellope. Her mother came around a lot and they had seen Vanellope every once in a while, but they never truly knew each other. Why did Tadashi think it was so important to find her?

"What were you up to, Tadashi?" Hiro questions as he empties the box. There are pens that had been chewed on, a bouncy ball, a yoyo, and pictures. The article talks about Mr. Schweetzeneger and his plans to revolutionize the gameplay experience. Hiro checks the date of the article.

"This was over thirteen years ago," Hiro states to himself. Hiro takes one good look at a picture of just Vanellope. He picks up the picture and carries it back to his bed. Hiro takes a long hard stare at his computer. He shakes his head, laying down, and pulling his covers over his head. He stares at Vanellope's picture, but his drive to want to help takes over.

Hiro hops out of bed and strolls over to his computer. He unlocks it, immediately finding his browser. He goes to work, researching anything he can on the Vanellope Von Schweetzenenger case. He couldn't leave one of his brother's projects unfinished. Hiro makes a mental note that he had no choice now but to finish his brother's search.

Hiro stops on the third page he visits, which focuses primarily on Vanellope's father.

"Sam Flynn and Quorra Flynn give ENCOM over to Ronald Schweetzenenger," Hiro reads aloud, squinting to read the words, "The Flynn's sell back every share and bond to Ronald for a painful 15.4 billion dollars."

Hiro's eyes widen as he continues to read. He hadn't realized that Vanellope's parents were loaded. But the more he reads, the more he understands why he didn't know. It would appear that Mrs. Schweetzeneger and Mr. Schweetzeneger were in the process of filing for divorce when he suddenly disappeared with Vanellope. In the process, Mrs. Schweetzeneger was left with nothing. Hiro leans back in his swivel chair, tapping his finger on his chin. Finally, he whips out a piece of pen and paper and starts scribbling down questions.

"Okay, new objective," Hiro says as he writes, "Why was Vanellope so important to Mr. Schweetzeneger? Why did the Flynn's sell the company? And lastly, where are all of the missing kids?"

Hiro taps his pencil on his chin before jotting down the last question, "And why did Tadashi care so much?"

Hiro rises from his chair, but steps on an old action figure. His foot shoots a wave of pain through his body, and Hiro can't help but let out a good ouch. He panics, turning towards Baymax's box. Hiro frowns, realizing that Baymax would not come out. They had successfully deactivated him. Baymax wasn't going to come to Hiro's aid.

Defeated, yet slightly victorious, Hiro wanders back to his own bed. Before he slides in, he peeks over at Tadashi's room. No matter how many years go by, neither Hiro nor Cass had ever had the heart to clean it out. Hiro stares down at the picture of Vanellope in his hand. Hiro reluctantly wanders over to Tadashi's bed, propping Vanellope's picture against Tadashi's lamp. Hiro snuggles into bed, taking in Tadashi's room.

Another hour passes by and Hiro still has not fallen asleep. Frustrated Hiro turns over to look at Vanellope's picture. He suddenly has a thought to the new Vanellope from Sugar Rush 2.0. Hiro wonders how they were able to match the aging process so well, but at the same time, he doesn't understand how they were able to cover the whereabouts of the children so easily. Soon all of Hiro's questions have drafted him to sleep. In his dream that night, he sees chocolate and candy all around him. Hiro smiles to himself as he walks down the candy brick road.

* * *

"Torvald! Sticky!" Adorabezle Winterpop calls, "C'mon, this isn't funny! Where are you?"

Adorabezle had been walking around for what seems like hours. Finally she stops, realizing that they simply weren't here. She had wandered around most of Sugar Rush to no avail. Adorabezle throws her hands in the air, looking around as she does.

"Hello? Is anyone even out here?" Adorabezle calls again. She sighs, walking through the candy tree forest. She drags her bike behind her, trying not to let her floor length red trench coat get caught in the wheels. Her long ruby colored pigtails are slung over her shoulders.

"This is ridiculous! Vanellope told me where you guys should be, I go there, you aren't there! What if we would've needed you huh? What then?" Adorabezle fumes, "This is an outrage! I'm Red Hot upset!"

As Adorabezle says this the sound of a branch fading and a distant scream. She watches a Sugar Baby land flat on its face. Adorabezle rolls her eyes, wandering over to the crying carmel pop. She extends a hand, and hoists the caramel on a stick to its feet.

"Watch what you're doing kid," Adorabezle scolds, "Double striped branches break."

"Okay miss," The Sugar baby nods, "I don't know where I am."

"Join the club. Have you seen the alternates anywhere?" Adorabezle asks.

"They left me!" The sugar baby sniffs, "I came back and they left me!"

"What do you mean they left you? Who are you?" Adorabezle squirms as the Sugar Baby grabs onto Adorabezle's pants.

"They call me Carmel Swirl," Carmel Swirl sniffs, "I'm a baby Sugar Daddy."

"Yeah I can tell that," Adorabezle says, "So where are the alternates?"

"They left! All of their stuff is gone." Carmel Swirl sighs.

"Gone? What do you mean gone? Where did they go?" Adorabezle gasps.

"I don't know! They vanished! Poof! I came, and I peek in, and poof! Nothing but code!"

"Code?" Adorabezle raises her eyebrow, "Like they glitched?"

"No! They turned to CODE and VANISHED! Poof! Poof! Poof!" Carmel Swirl hops around.

"Turned to code," Adorabezle covers her face with her hand, "Oh! I knew we shouldn't have fallen for Pixel and her stupid games!"

"No Pixel! They with boy!" Carmel Swirl protests, "They with boy!"

"What?" Adorabezle says, "Swizzle, Rancis, or Gloyd?"

"I don't know!"

"Was it even Swizzle Rancis or Gloyd?"

"I don't know!"

"Oh come on Carmel Swirl! I need racers! Vanellope specifically said to get the alternates so they could race and be put in place of them on the rosters!" Adorabezle groans.

"Me race!" Carmel Swirl breaks into a smile.

"The candy people don't race," Adorabezle glares, "You are not a racer. I could eat you whole in less than three minutes."

Carmel Swirl's smile fades to a frown and before she knows it, Carmel has tears streaming down its face. Adorabezle is taken aback, trying to calm the poor lollipop. "Wait! No Carmel! You're going to melt yourself!"

"I don't want to melt!" Carmel Swirl says crying harder. Adorabezle doesn't know what to do. She glances around, wishing there would be anyone around, but the only ones who live in the candy tree forests were the alternates. Adorabezle finally extends her pointer finger and takes Carmel Swirl's small stick hands in hers.

"You are not going to melt!" Adorabezle says, "Now you are going to come with me, we are going to go back to Princess Vanellope's castle, and we are going to figure out where the alternates went. Okay?"

"Me going to da castle!" Carmel Swirl hops, still holding onto Adorabezle's hand, "We walk?"

"No way," Adorabezle smiles hoisting Carmel Swirl onto her back, "We ride."

* * *

"Vanellope! What the heck is going on?" Fix-it-Felix states as the nicelanders and Ralph wait for a quarter alert.

"We were about to ask you the same thing. According to Pixel Chick, the arcade is closed for the day." Vanellope explains. They are standing outside of the Nicelander's pent house. Ralph is off helping the small village of refugees behind the junk yard.

"The girls over at Dance Dance Revolution or Street Fighter might know what's happening," Felix says, "Come on, let's boogie on over there."

"Don't ever use that joke again," Vanellope shakes her head, walking with Felix to the transport. The duo make the trip to GCS where Crumbelina, Minty, Swizzle, Taffyta and Rancis had been patiently waiting. It seems as if most of the characters had not left their games yet. Besides a few stragglers, GCS was a ghost town. The group walk over to the entrance to Dance Dance Revolution. As they ride, they can hear the sounds of bumping music. Taffyta elbows Swizzle who breaks into a huge smile.

When they reach the entrance they are greeted by Junior, one of the avatars. Junior flips his blond hair out of his face, nearly knocking the wind out of Minty. Vanellope, Crumbelina, and Taffyta can't help but laugh at Minty who was so obviously crushing.

"Hey! Look who it is! Felix and the Children of Sugar Rush! I guess y'all aren't Children no more." Junior puts his hands in his pockets.

"Not a chance," Taffyta flips her hair, "We've only gotten hotter!"

The group laughs and Junior ushers them in. They are blasted with music and in the center of the room there is a humungous record that serves as the dance floor. Tables and a bar surround the outer edges of the room. Junior leads them over to the bar where the leader of the Revolution, Tracy had been leaning. The second she sees them her face brightens. She does a back bend over the counter and comes face to face with Vanellope, her arms extending for a hug.

"Vanellope!" Tracy shouts, her pigtails almost hitting Vanellope in the face, "I haven't seen you in forever! Your game was looking pretty popular!"

"And also a real pain in the neck," Rancis adds, fixing his hat, "Those people need to learn control!"

"Well, they can't be perfect," Tracy laughs, "Do you guys want a drink or something? Dance have some fun!"

"That's not why we're—" Vanellope starts.

"Waiiiiiiitttt wait wait," Swizzle jumps in, his sunglasses hanging on the edge of his nose, "What's the _rush_ Van? Let's have a little fun while we're here!"

"We didn't come here for fun!" Vanellope sighs but it's too late. Minty and Junior had already made their way to the rotating vinyl dance floor, Taffyta and Rancis had found a small table to hang out at and Crumbelina had found the snack bar. Felix and Vanellope shake their heads at each other.

"Good grief," Vanellope groans, "Tracy, we really want to know what's going on—"

"Drink while we talk," Tracy says handing her a blue drink.

"What the heck is this?" Vanellope looks down at the glass as if it were poisoned.

"It's a blueberry juice," Tracy laughs, "Trust me it's totally harmless."

"I prefer sugar water," Vanellope frowns, "I like to dip snickers in it."

"Wow when was last time you loosened up? You've been so tense since the upgrade. I wonder what they did to your code." Tracy shrugs and takes the glass from Vanellope. Vanellope sits across from Tracy at the bar and Felix stands beside them both.

"So what happened at the arcade?" Felix asks Tracy.

"Oh! It was totally rad. After Sugar Rush glitched, this big robot thing came bursting through the door. I got to see Pixel Chicks human form. Of course, I didn't know it was her until she transformed into her avatar form. It was pretty insane, but she saved a bunch of people from being killed." Tracy nods.

"So she isn't the villain?" Vanellope ponders.

"Doesn't look like it. The owner, Litwhack, he knew her. Turns out he's known her for a long time. He walked off with the five other people and the big marshmallow robot that attacked."

"What people?" Vanellope asks.

"Dunno. I think their names were Hiro, Gogo, Honey Lemon, and there were two more but I didn't catch their names. Hiro was at your console. I think you were his avatar. Honey Lemon was the super tall girl with the blonde hair and Gogo was the girl that was dominating that new Tron game."

"Hiro," Vanellope says out loud. As she does a sharp pain comes into her head. Before her she sees flashes of code. She stands to her feet, banging the side of her head as if trying to shake water out of her ear. After a couple blinks the world rushes back to her.

"Vanellope?" Felix asks putting a hand on her back, "Are you alri—"

"I'm fine," Vanellope says, still trying to regain her balance, "I just got like a weird ache."

Tracy bursts out laughing, "An ache? Van, programs don't get headaches! Heck, we don't get sick! We only feel pain if someone hits us. C'mon, if we felt pain like that we wouldn't be able to die and regenerate. Shoot, at that point we'd be human."

"Yeah, you're right," Vanellope chuckles, still rubbing her head, "Guess I just got surprised or something."

Vanellope tries to force a smile, trying to convince herself that she had imagined the pain. The tingling in her skull would tell her otherwise. Felix still hadn't stopped staring, but Vanellope plays it off as if nothing happened. Vanellope turns to find that the Taffyta and the others had reconvened at a location across the room. She nods towards them, getting Felix's attention.

"Thanks for all of the help Trace," Felix nods.

"Anytime Junior," Tracy winks at them, "Oh wait! Vanellope, what exactly were you planning on doing? You can't help what's outside of the arcade."

Vanellope stops to think about this before answering. What was it that she thought she could do? Whatever happens outside of the consoles are out of her control.

"I don't know," Vanellope responds, still feeling the tingle in her skull, "I really don't know."


	6. Connection

_Hiro jolts awake, his heart beating faster than it ever has before. He is in his room, the sun shining through his window. He slowly gets out of bed, peeking out of the window, half expecting a super-villain to be floating outside. Hiro glances down at the world before him, people pushing past each other to get to wherever they are going. Hiro tries to catch his breath, not knowing what could have freaked him out._

 _Hiro shakes his head, turning around, only to find Baymax standing behind him. His bed is now gone, causing Hiro's heartrate to speed up again._

 _"You have been chosen, champion," Baymax says bowing at Hiro._

 _"Champion? Baymax what are you talking about? And how did you activat—"_

 _"You have been chosen, champion," Baymax's eyes narrow, glowing red and his voice is deepening, "We're coming for you. We're coming for you all."_

* * *

Hiro bolts to his feet, wishing he had stood up slower. He grasps his chest, his heart rate going ten thousand beats a second. He glances around his room towards Baymax's box. He breathes a sigh of relief, seeing that Baymax is still tucked away in his charging station. Hiro turns towards his computer, hoping he hadn't done anything stupid when he went to look up more about the Schweetzenegers last night. Next to the computer is the chip he had to take out of Baymax. Not wanting to take any chances, Hiro grabs Baymax's chip and stashes it under his pillow.

Hiro rushes to get dressed. The group had decided to meet at Fred's house in the morning so they could try to get a handle on what had happened. They also wanted to go through a round of training and take time to recalibrate their suits. Fred's father had been nice enough to let Litwhack stay in their mansion. Hiro hops down the stairs to his apartment, and down into the café. He waves to his Aunt Cass as he reaches the door to the outside world.

"Hiro wait!" Aunt Cass calls, "Are you going to meet your friends?"

"Yes Aunt Cass," Hiro groans, "Can I go now? They're all waiting."

"Here take this sack of goodies," Cass says reaching behind the counter to grab a large sack of donuts and pastries.

"I am 19 you know," Hiro rolls his eyes, "I don't need you to make snacks for my friends. We're busy doing grown up stuff, y'know?"

"Riiiight," Cass laughs, "Well these were about to go bad anyway. Just take the stack and get out of here!"

"Bye, Aunt Cass," Hiro laughs exiting the café. He walks through the streets towards Fred's house, constantly glancing over his shoulder as if someone is watching. He feels a tingling in the back of his skull, and he can't help but rub the back of his neck. People pass him without giving Hiro a second glance. The streets seem busier than usual—and that's saying a lot considering how crowded San Fransokyo tends to be.

The closer to Fred's house Hiro gets, the quieter the streets become. Fred's neighborhood tends to be relatively quiet because of the location. A majority of the population can't afford to even be in the surrounding area. Hiro is happy to finally arrive at Fred's front door. He is saving up as much money as he can to get a motorcycle. Riding on Baymax is a luxury that he can only do in a supersuit. When he is just Hiro, he needs a two wheeler to help him get around.

Hiro raises his eyebrow at the sight of a beat up old station wagon stationed outside of Fred's house by the gate. Hiro rings the doorbell, watching the car suspiciously. He starts to turn his attention towards the door when he hears a squeak. He quickly turns noticing the car's headlights had moved slightly towards his direction. Hiro's jaw drops and he fumbles to knock on Fred's front door.

Hiro is happy to see Fred's butler, Heathcliff, open the door.

"Hiro! The others are waiting—"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks man!" Hiro says speeding past Heathcliff. He runs past the stairs, down a long hallway towards a steel door. Hiro narrows his eyes, seeing the others spread out on the floor by the door. He attempts to calm his heart rate, convincing himself he was just feeling spooked because of his dream last night. Instantly he makes an executive decision to keep his dream from his friends. They might think he is losing his mind!

"What are you guys doing?" Hiro asks, "Why don't you just go inside?"

"Chief bozo here won't let us go in," Gogo says popping a bubble on her gum and leaning against the wall. Hiro looks towards Fred to see him standing guard in front of the steel door. Fred shakes his head.

"This is a no-go zone bro. You heard the man! We need to stay away from all gaming services and electronics. We go inside that room, and who knows what will happen?"

"Nothing is going to happen!" Hiro rolls his eyes, "I used the computer last night and nothing happened."

"You _what?_ " Honey Lemon gasps, "Litwhack told us to stay off of computers!"

"We _live_ for technology!" Hiro says, "Come on Honey, you and Wasabi have businesses _based_ off of technology. What are you guys going to do when it's time to go back to work? I have a project to work on that requires a prototype. I can do all the math and logistics out on paper, but I can't build it myself because it will take weeks. Weeks that I don't have."

"Okay, we need to figure this out now," Wasabi says standing to his feet, "Both of you guys are right. We need to be careful, but we also really need our tech. Litwhack is crashing at your place, right Fred?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen with Heathcliff," Fred crosses his arms, "He had to have a specific old people food breakfast. I wasn't sticking around for that."

"Then let's go see what we can do," Gogo stands to her feet and begins to walk away. The others trail after her. They have done all of their training as BH6 at Fred's house, so they all knew the place inside and out. It even turned out that Fred's father has a secret training facility that they can use to brush up on their hand to hand combat. They can't be 100% suit reliant. They all needed to be able to fight without their gadgets.

They enter Fred's dining room to find Litwhack sipping a small cup of coffee at the sixteen-seat dining table. He has a newspaper in his hand but he smiles at them as they enter.

"Good morning everyone," Litwhack smiles, "I'm guessing you all came in here for answers."

"No kidding," Hiro says, "Litwhack, we need to know what we can do. I can't trace Pixel and the others without the use of the internet."

"I'm sorry Hiro, but right now your safety is imperative," Litwhack shakes his head, "As long as Clue doesn't have his champions, the world is safe."

"We have lives to live!" Gogo shouts, "You can't expect us to go into hiding for the rest of our lives."

"I'm not a superhero," Litwhack sighs, "And until we can figure out how to defeat Clue without sending you all to the Grid, we have to—"

"Wait what? Are you trying to tell me that so far the only way to defeat this guy is to go _inside_ the game?" Wasabi raises his eyebrow, "I fail to see why we can't just destroy the backup, destroy the last Tron game and voila! Problem solved right?"

"There are many problems with that statement," Litwhack shakes his head, standing to his feet, "I don't know where the backup is, and because you all have been injected with Code 474, if you kill Tron, you kill yourselves."

Hiro feels his heart skip a beat and the group exchange glances. That is the last thought any of them had ever let cross their minds.

"How is that possible? If it is a code that is related to arcade games—" Honey Lemon starts.

"It's not a code related to arcade games, it is a code only native to Tron. Look, I've gotten a chance to look at the original Tron coding. I knew Sam's father when it was still just a prototype. I was a bit younger than Mr. Flynn at the time, but I was able to understand most of the complex code. Code 474 is a set of algorithims so complex that just tinkering with a bit of it could give Clue access to the whole world wide web and more. Trust me. If you kill Tron, all of you will die."

"Baymax?" Hiro's voice shakes, "You mean this could kill Baymax too?"

"Yes. So far, the only way I know of to kill Clue is to repeat the process Sam and his father had to go through and enter the Grid and fight him from the inside. You guys would act as sort of a guardian code against trojans." Litwhack sighs.

"And what about the Sugar Rush kids?" Gogo crosses her arms, "What are we supposed to do about them?"

"The only theory I have is that the machine in my arcade now contains the Sugar Rush kids. I believe that the same technology that was used to send Sam and his father to the Grid is the same technology used to send the missing kids into Sugar Rush."

"Wait," Fred narrows his eyes, "So you're saying that the game Hiro and Honey played today—all of those kids were real? Like humans stuck in a computer screen since they were children?"

"It's only a theory. But I've watched them over the years. Glitch always protected those machines, making sure no one abused them. Glitch is practically immortal. She can glitch herself to be any age she chooses. Her code is immortal as long as Tron exists. Eventually her genetic human code will catch up to her, but right now she is fine. She doesn't just think the Sugar Rush kids are stuck in a game. She _knows_ they are. She's been in contact with them, jumping into the circuits from time to time. Whatever they-whoever they is-did, they wiped the kids memory. They all believed they were created with code. None of them know they might be human. They don't even bleed. They can die and regenerate inside their game."

"This is all too much," Gogo puts her hand on her forehead, "Magic portals into video games? This is completely unreal!"

"This almost makes too much sense," Hiro nods, "If those kids really are human, than it would almost be like this was all an experiment!"

The group look at Hiro as if he has lost his mind. But now, Hiro is long gone. His brain is pulling all the information he had learned the night before about Mr. Schweetzeneger and his ideas of taking gaming to the next level.

"What would you do, if you knew you had the technology to send someone _into_ a game?" Hiro smiles, "You would be doing everything in your power to get the technology developed, right? Think about it! I was reading the other night about how Mrs. Schweetzeneger and Mr. Schweetzenger were going through a divorce over a disagreement concerning their child, but no one knew why. Mr. Schweetzeneger bought ENCOM from Sam and Quorra Flynn, and shortly after, Mr. Schweetzeneger and his kid disappeared and Sugar Rush was unveiled. It almost doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"You think that Mr. Schweetzenger wanted to use Vanellope as an experiment to send people into games?" Honey Lemon gasps.

"Well, anything's possible," Litwhack agrees, "With all this new virtual reality tech, companies have been working their tails off to find a way to enhance the gaming experience. Why use virtual reality when you can be transported into and out of a game?"

"Okay, so we have formulated a formidable theory," Wasabi nods, "But now what are we supposed to do to fix it? If we can't destroy Tron from the outside, and we've all pretty much decided…at least I have… that it is too dangerous to go inside Tron, then what are we supposed to do?"

"We need to find Glitch," Fred says, "Since she seems to be the guardian or whatever, she probably has all of the information we need! And I'll bet you ten bucks that Mr. Schweetzeneger, wherever he is, has the backup of Tron."

"Ten bucks? Fred you are rich enough to bet ten thousand," Wasabi rolls his eyes.

"This kid will never not surprise me," Gogo shakes her head, "Fred has a point though. Maybe if we find the backup we can better understand it. Where would Glitch be?"

"Now that the arcade is closed and Tron has been plugged in? I have no idea if she is even there. There could be some trouble inside the circuits. She could be anywhere." Litwhack shrugs.

"And without Baymax, I can't track her if she is in this world," Hiro groans, "Well let's check the arcade anyway. It's our best bet."

"But the game servers!" Honey Lemon exclaims, "If we go, we could get sucked into one of the games."

Hiro curses under his breathe starting to pace. All of this was getting too complicated. Every time they seem to figure something out, there is another piece to the puzzle that seems to keep coming up. Hiro is starting to sweat, between the heat in Fred's house, the heat from outdoors, and his own stress. Hiro takes off his jacket, the group watching as a photo flitters to the floor. Wasabi leans to pick it up, the others leaning in to look.

"Oh wait that's—" Hiro lunges for the photo.

"Thank you, Tadashi? From Vanellope? Vanellope Schweetzeneger?" Fred asks."I don't know what it is," Hiro shakes his head, "My aunt says that Tadashi and I used to know her when we were small, but I don't have any memory of her. Tadashi had never even mentioned Vanellope's name so I have no idea what that is about."

The group stare at Hiro, but he shrugs. There is nothing else he can say. For once, he is completely stumped and his brother left no other clues to why Tadashi had that picture.

"Let's just forget about it for now and get to the arcade. Maybe if we quickly get in and get out, we won't have to worry about getting zapped into the servers," Hiro suggesets turning to look at Litwhack, "Unless you think the second we step into the arcade we are going to be downloaded into a game."

"Now that, I can make no promises." Litwhack shrugs.

"What if you temporarily shut down the arcade?" Honey Lemon says, "If you cut the power, we can get in and find glitch."

"Uh, no, bad idea. If Glitch is inside the servers and you cut the power, she will be stuck in there. And if you do that, no one knows what will happen to the rest of us who are _part code_." Gogo states.

"Oh boy," Hiro shakes his head, "This is going to be a long day."

* * *

"What do you mean they are gone?" Vanellope practically shouts, "They're the alternates! They can't just vanish! Are you sure you looked everywhere?"

"Yes!" Adorabeezle glares at Vanellope, "Yes I'm sure I looked everywhere but the only thing I found was this pipsqueak."

Adorabeezle glances down at the Sugar Baby, Carmel Swirl stuck to her leg. Vanellope throws her hands up, pacing around the throne room. Her crown is fixed perfectly atop her head.

"This is insane," Vanellope shakes her head, "Sour Bill! Where is Sour Bill?"

The oreo guards exchange glances, neither of them able to tell her where Sour Bill is.

"When did you see him last?" Vanellope puts her hands on her hips and again, they are unable to answer. Vanellope looks to the other racers who had been standing in a huddle on the opposite side of the room. Vanellope is hoping that one of them will step up and say where they are, but all of them turn to each other and shrug.

"Van," Taffyta rolls her eyes, "Just let _us_ race. You said it yourself. Going to Revolution was a bust. There is nothing we can do anyway, so let's just drop it and get ready for the next day."

"At this rate, there won't be another race for us to have," Vanellope crosses her arms, "Do you really think that after all that happened, the arcade is going to be open?"

"If Pixel had anything to do with it, maybe not," Taffyta shrugs, "But there is nothing we are going to be able to do. The best thing to do is to just keep racing like everything is normal."

"Yeah," Swizzle steps forward with his usual stoned look, "Let's just keep it _cooool_ for a while okay? The game is still plugged in, all the power is still up, there are no glitches."

"They're right," Jubileena says, "Right now there isn't anything to worry about. C'mon Princess. Let us race okay?"

Vanellope looks around at the group she has spent every day of her life with. They all loved racing more than anything. Vanellope sighs, realizing it would be stupid for her to take this from them. They just got upgraded and if they all want to race, than who is she to tell them no? Well, she is the president and she does run under a democracy…

"Okay fine," Vanellope shrugs, "Go get ready. We'll have the roster race in a half hour. We don't have long to get the race done. So hurry up."

The other racers cheer and take off. Once they leave, Vanellope shoos the guards out of the throne room. Vanellope sighs and takes a seat at her throne.

"Missing," Vanellope shakes her head, "How could the alternates be missing?"

Vanellope looks down at the tiles on the floor. Vanellope raises her eyebrow at a pattern she has never noticed before. It looks like a weird face etched in the floor. Vanellope stands to her feet and walks towards it. There are two black dots and a line underneath. She tilts her head to the side, expecting the floor to shift, but it stays put.

Vanellope kneels down and runs her finger over the two circles. Vanellope's eyes widen as the two circle close and open. Vanellope jumps to her feet as the floor begins to move and twist. She feels as if the entire room is being turned upside down. The tile is turning, spinning and shifting as if she has stepped into an optical illusion. Vanellope gasps as she watches the room flicker to life. She stumbles back, landing on her bottom. A light flashes, bringing a hologram to life. The face looks so familiar as if from a distant code. The man is wearing spectacles and is carrying a briefcase.

"This was a mistake," The man breathes wiping sweat from his brow.

"You almost look like me," Vanellope's heart is beating faster than it ever has before. The man seems to have a nose just like her. But that's just a coincidence! As a code, there is no telling what kind of facial features she has that are based off of their creators.

"This was a mistake! I-I can't do this! Vanellope!" The man starts to stutter, a terrifying glitching sound coming from behind him.

"Wha—" Vanellope stumbles, squinting at the man.

"Fi—Tad—and m—m—make—up—b—ba—Krei—Fly—" The hologram stutters. Vanellope jumps to her feet, stumbling towards the hologram.

"Wait! What's it saying? I can't hear!" Vanellope shouts. She can hear her guards beating down the door to the throne room. The room is still spinning and the hologram is breaking up.

"Key!" The hologram shouts, "It—code—Hiro."

Without another word the hologram disperses and the room returns to normal. Vanellope sits breathless, her finger still where she had left it on the floor. Her heart is pounding, every inch of her body shaking. That name sounds so familiar to her. The name is sitting at the tip of her tongue as if it were so natural.

"Hiro," Vanellope mutters. Instantly it feels like the world is rushing towards her. She squeals, a shot of pain rushing up her body into her head. She stumbles to the floor grasping for air.

* * *

Hiro instantly falls to the ground a sharp pain shooting through his head.

"Hiro!" Honey Lemon rushes to his side, "Hiro what's happening?"

"What's wrong with him?" Gogo asks, suddenly turning to hit Fred, "Did you let him eat that whole bag of sweets his aunt gave him this morning?"

"Hey! It was _me_ who ate the whole bag of pastries!" Fred defends himself.

"Hiro can you hear me?" Honey Lemon's voice starts to fade as Hiro begins to lose consciousness. Hiro can feel his eyes closing, darkness closing in.

* * *

 _Silence. Darkness. That is all the two can see. There isn't another soul. A boy with dark black hair, a red hoodie and a pair of jeans stands off to the left. His breathing is shallow and his mind is finally at rest after so many hours of confusion._

 _Similarly, a girl with long flowing black hair and candy stuck inside of it stands to the right. Her black jacket threatens to blend in with the background but her fair skin, and seemingly glowing stature makes her stand out. Her stance is strong, her fists clenched, a tiara on her head._

 _For a moment, both are confused, but once they meet each other's gaze, they feel a connection. Their heart beats steady, and they match each other's breathing. Neither of them move, but both stand with their jaws dropped as if they were seeing a ghost. He turns to the girl taking steps towards her. The girl jogs towards him, stopping a few feet from him. For a while, not one of them is able to move, able to say a word. The boy looks down at his hand and back up at the beautiful girl in front of him. He holds out his hand with his palm facing her. The girl is reluctant at first, but follows, letting her fingers intertwine with his. For the first time, everything seems right, calm, and peaceful. But with a flash of light she's gone._

 _His heart rate speeds back up and he finds himself gasping for air. He can still feel the tingling from her touch on his palm. He looks around, searching for her, but he cannot find her. All around him, he could only see darkness. He falls to his knees, a new kind of despair touching his heart._

 _"I'll find you," The boy says, "No matter what, I will find you."_


	7. Stolen

_"Yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi. Wo de pengyou zai na li!" Two tiny tots sing as they dart around each other. One of them was a small four year old girl, and the other boy a few months older. In front of them is the small girl's mother who had been teaching them the song. Eventually the two children run off together, only to run into the boy's older brother._

 _"Hiro," the older boy shook his head with a smile, "What are you guys singing?"_

 _"W-we learned a song!" Hiro stutters to find his words._

 _"My mom taught us a song in Chinese!" The girl says excitedly wobbling over to the oldest grabs her hand, and Hiro grabs his other._

 _"Why would she do a silly thing like that? Japanese I would understand, but not Chinese." The eldest boy shrugs._

 _"Come on, Tadashii!" Hiro calls dragging Tadashii and the little girl with him. They come to a stop a the playground and Hiro rushes off to the jungle gym. To his surprise, the little girl doesn't follow, but instead turns to Tadashii._

 _"Tadashii?" The little girl tugs on Tadashii so he can lean down to her level, "Do you think my daddy is a bad person too?"_

" _What? Of course I don't think that. Besides, what do I know? I'm just a kid like you." Tadashii shrugs again._

 _"I'm scared," the little girl frowns, "I don't want my daddy to be evil. Him and momma fight a lot."_

 _"Hey kid," Tadashii holds the little girl's hands, "You've got more strength and courage than any person in the whole universe."_

 _"Hey! That's what you said to me!" Hiro shouts and crosses his arms._

 _"Oh, shut up you scatterbrain," Tadashii laughs. He turns back towards the girl who had taken the time to laugh with him._

 _"Promise," the little girl says, "Promise me I'll be okay."_

 _Tadashii smiles and holds out his pinkie, "Vanellope, I promise I won't let anything bad happen to you. If anybody tries to mess with you, they go through me!"_

 _"Yeah, besides," Hiro interludes, resting a hand on Tedashii's shoulder, "We're gonna be the next einsteins! If anything happens to you, we'll sleuth out the bad guys with our brain power and laser cannons."_

 _The trio laugh, resuming their play. They had all been unaware that the girl's father was standing nearby with his arms crossed._

 _"We can't stay here any longer," The man shakes his head, "Those two might pose a problem."_

* * *

Hiro opens his eyes and pretty much bolts to his feet but about a dozen hands weigh him down. His breathe is rapid and it sounded like there were a million people speaking at once. As his vision clears, he is relieved that is only his pals.

"Hiro are you alright?" Honey Lemon says putting a hand on his forehead.

"Don't ever do that again! You scared the living daylights out of us," Gogo fumes.

"Oh, maybe we didn't need the paramedics after all," Wasabi lets out a breathe, "See I told you we didn't need to call 911."

"What are you talking about? You had your phone out before I could even say noodles," Gogo rolls her eyes.

"It's customary! If someone passes out like that without cause, YOU CALL AN AMBULANCE!"

"Guys!" Hiro shouts shrugging them off and standing to his feet, "I'm fine!"

He quickly takes in his surroundings, noticing that he had somehow made it back in Fred's hangout.

"What happened? You like freaked and then lost consciousness," Wasabi asks, sitting on the couch where Hiro had been.

"I don't know," Hiro shook his head, "I felt a sharp pain and then I blacked out. I remember having a dream of some sort. But I can't remember it anymore. It was weird. I could feel someone call my name."

"You can't feel when someone calls your name," Honey Lemon raises her eyebrow, "Maybe you just imagined it."

"Yeah," Hiro says even though he knows what he remembered, "maybe. Well now that that's over I say we split up. I think before we do anything we need to find that backup of Tron."

"How are we supposed to find it without Baymax?" Fred asks leaning on an irritated Wasabi's head.

"We have a lead. According to the stories I've read, they moved a little ways away from San Fransokyo. The woman Aunt Cass had me meet the other day was Ms. Schweetzeneger. I'm sure if I talked to Aunt Cass she would be willing to let me know where Mrs. Schweetzeneger lives. Then once I'm in, you guys can do some snooping."

"If she's rich, won't she have major security cameras? All rich people have security cameras. Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, I mean the list goes on and on." Fred says.

"Not a problem. I'm sure if I break away for a second, I can find her security box and disable it within seconds." Hiro shugs.

"You don't know anything about her! And without a decoder or any form of tech, how are you supposed to disable it?" Gogo crosses her arms, "You may be a genius but you're not an all knowing god."

"That title only goes to one man," Honey Lemon interjects.

"Guys, come on! Have a little more faith in me would you?" Hiro says, "It'll be fine! Me, Honey Lemon and Fred will enter together. Wasabi and Gogo, you guys will enter through whichever way you can to snoop around. We have to assume this place is as big as the papers say it is. There will probably be a lot of rooms to go through."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Wasabi shakes his head.

"Come on! We fight bad guys almost three times a week, and we've put two super villains in the slammer. What could possibly happen?"

* * *

 **Seven hours before then….**

"Citizens of Sugar Rush!" Vanellope emerges near their famous race track starting line. "Welcome to our daily racing challenge! The track will be randomly generated and will determine the roster for the next day of racing. Now I know it's been kind of weird lately with all the random glitches, the upgrade, and stuff happening at the arcade, but trust me. It's going to be fine! So who's ready to race?"

The crowd erupts in applause and cheers. Vanellope looks around for Sour Bill, but to her dismay, still can't find him. He hasn't been anywhere in sight. She figures he decided to take a couple days off. That's fine, but she wishes he would have told her. It had been odd not having anyone to confide in. He wasn't much company considering how unusually pessimistic he was, but it gave her two sides to every story she told.

"Alright racers, pull out your payment and toss!" One by one the racers tossed their previous coins onto the giant lollipop that sent them straight into a giant trophy. From there they turn to code and disappear, the racer's name appearing on the roster. From down below, all of her friends shoot her a thumbs up as they rush towards their bikes. Vanellope rolls back her arm and launches her coin.

She hops down from her spot as the timer begins to countdown. She waves to her adoring crowd, hopping on her bike just in time. The numbers count down from three… two… and then a loud buzz starts the race. Vanellope smiles reving her engine and taking off.

Back at the starting line, the Jumbotron had flashed to show the race at hand as well as everyone's placement. The crowd watches and cheers until a strange pixilated black and blue portal opens near the starting line. Four random coins project themselves through the portal and straight into the trophy. The crowd gasps as four names pop onto the screen that they had heard of, but never seen. They watch horrified as four high tech, orange bikes speed out of the portal at top speed. The leaderboard flashes, making room for Sticky Wipplesnet, Cirtusela Flugpucker, Torvald BatterButter, and Nougetsia Brumblestain.

The crowd is speechless for a while, with no one to warn the others of what's going on.

Back at the front of the track, Vanellope, Swizzle and Minty Zaki are head to head for first. Minty pulls ahead after receiving a candy boost. Vanellope glances over at Swizzle, who seems as if he is chillaxing on his bike without a care in the world. Up ahead the road splits in two and Vanellope turns left into Nesquik road. There are small pockets of Nesquik sand, but lucky for Vanellope, she knows the best way to dodge it. She swerves right and left, finding a speed bump that would propel her onto the wall to avoid the sand. Vanellope times it perfectly, inches away from the speed bump, but her bike swivels out of control as she is hit with a cherry bomb.

"Whoa!" Vanellope says stabilizing her bike. She sighs realizing she was now going to be forced to ride through the Nesquik sand. She is able to get to the other side, but not without stalling five seconds off of her race time. She hears sound behind her and in no time Snowana, Crumbelina, and Taffyta pull past her.

"See ya pretty princess!" Taffyta laughs.

"You haven't gotten rid of me yet!" Vanellope says, pushing her bike to it's top potential. In her rear view mirror she spots Rancis and Candlehead. Vanellope smiles, keeping her distance from them as they exit Nesquik road back into Brownie Town.

Vanellope is cruising along, spotting Taffyta up ahead when she hears Rancis scream behind her.

"What the, ah!" Rancis shouts.

"VANELLOPE!" Candlehead calls desperately speeding up to match Vanellope's speed, "It's the alternates! They're on some weird bikes you have to warn the others!"

They both scream as one of the bikes speed past them. A trail of orange is left behind. They spot Sticky Wipplesnit turn around on her bike and sticks out her tongue. She spins to the right and Candlehead runs straight into the leftover trail. She is thrown off her bike as her bike turns to code. Vanellope is going too fast but she can see a portal open up and grab Candlehead and Rancis. Vanellope's heart is racing as she sees three more high end bikes behind her. Citrusella, Nougetsia, and Torvald are in line right behind her. Vanellope gasps, shifting to run into a candy. The item she receives is an ice cream cannon.

"Sorry if it isn't drizzled with chocolate!" Vanellope says launching two scoops of ice cream. Unfortunately, they dodge them, but it does slow down Nougetsia and Torvald's bikes. Vanellope whips back to the front in just enough time to turn. They are past Brownie Town and are headed into SnowCone Ally. Vanellope can see Sticky's bike up ahead. Without being able to touch the odd light trailing behind Sticky, Vanellope can't get a clear shot. Suddenly, an idea comes to mind.

Vanellope drifts to the right, letting her back wheels turn out so she glides giving her the perfect shot. With another curve coming up, Vanellope has to fire now. Without hesitation, Vanellope fires, knocking Sticky off her bike. The bike glides and folds up into what looks like a stick. Vanellope marvels but knows she has no time to dwell on what she had just seen. Those bikes weren't even made up of candy!

Vanellope speeds to catch up to the others. She reaches Tafyta, Crumbelina and Snowanna just in time.

"Hey guys! Watch your back. The alternates are on a rampage!" Vanellope shouts.

"Where the heck did they get those bikes?" Crumbelina shouts at the top of her lungs.

"I don't know, but I feel like we don't wanna know! They just took Rancis and Candlehead." Vanellope explains as quickly as she can, "We have to catch up to the others to warn them!"

Without another word they all speed up, going at top speed. Without Candlehead, they can't ignite the cherry bombs. Vanellope can spot Jubileena and Adorabeezle racing side by side ahead of them, and Crumbelina takes the initiative to speed up. Vanellope looks back to see that the trio had disappeared.

"Wait a minute, where'd they go?" Vanellope asks. But as soon as she said that, she wished she hadn't Taffyta and Crumbelina scream as the alternatives seemingly pop out of nowhere landing in front of Vanellope and Taffyta. Vanellope swerves just in time to dodge the light trail, but Taffyta isn't as lucky. Taffyta screams as she is thrown off her bike and into another portal.

"Taffyta!" Vanellope calls. Without another word Vanellope speeds forward to catch up, but she can barely focus on catching the others when she is too busy dodging their light trails. She sees Adorabeezle and Jubileena flail and fall off their bikes, another portal opening to grab them. Vanellope's heart is racing as she desperately tries to find something she can do. They are coming up on the end of SnowCone Ally and into the last section before they cross the finish line. Vanellope takes a right and dives below the surface into the Underground, a peppermint tunnel. Vanellope had stumbled upon this part of the track a couple days ago and it had been a life saver. As Vanellope speeds through, she hopes to beat Torvald, Citrusella, and Nougetsia out. She doesn't even want to think about where Sticky could be.

By the time Vanellope reaches the top, it is too late. The finish line was less than a mile away, but Sticky, Torvald, Citrusela, and Nougetsia are already waiting for her with Gloyd, Minty Zaki, and Swizzle tied up. Vanellope pulls her bike to a stop and hops off. She takes a real hard look at the four alternates' outfits.

"What the hell do you guys think you're doing?" Vanellope fumes, "Adorabeezle was looking for you guys for HOURS! Where have you been? Why are you dressed like that? Whose bikes are those? I know they aren't from Sugar Rush because there isn't a lick of sugar on them."

"Good questions," Citrusella narrows her eyes, "Why don't you come with us and find out?"

"Vanellope!" Minty and Gloyd shout shaking their heads.

"Don't take the deal Van!" Swizzle calls. His usual calm demeanor has a slight hint of fear in it, "We'll be alright, don't worry about us."

Vanellope glitches her royal sword into her hand, "Let them go. I'm not sure where you took the others, but I'm going to want them back too!"

The girls laugh and a portal opens. They kick Gloyd, Minty, and Swizzle through.

"No!" Vanellope calls to them. Without being in Sugar Rush, they won't regenerate. Wherever they are, she hopes they're safe.

"Now you can either come with us the easy way, or you can come with us the hard way," Nougetsia says pulling out a pink disk from her suit.

"If you think I'm letting you take me from MY game, you're dead wrong!" Vanellope says putting her sword in a ready stance.

"Suit yourself," Nougetsia says before launching the disk at her. Before Vanellope can even blink, a portal opens and Glitch flies out, deflecting Nougetsia's disk with a disk of her own. Nougetsia catches her disk, as does Glitch as she does a dive roll to catch it.

"Get out of here Vanellope," Glitch demands.

"They have my friends!" Vanellope shouts, "I'm not going anywhere!"

Torvald laughs out loud and then takes a step forward, "Where do you think she can run to? Huh, Glitch? We know this place inside and out! We know every nook cranny, every hidden level, alternate and bonus level, every house, every citizen. No matter where she runs, we'll find her. And if we don't, we have people who will."

"Who gave you the suits?" Glitch demands.

"Your old pal. He is very persuasive," Citrusela purrs.

"Rinzler," Glitch glares, her white as snow hair swinging over her shoulder.

"Yes, so why don't you do us a favor and take her to Tron since she was so interested to find out more." Nougetsia crosses her arms.

"What? They're in Tron? Why would you guys take them out of their game?" Vanellope asks.

"Clue is lying to you guys." Glitch tries, "Whatever he told you was a lie. He is using you and once he's through, you'll be on your own. He's vicious, mean, and has no regard for anyone but himself."

"Like you can talk! You tried to go Turbo but then tried to call yourself the protector of Sugar rush!" Torvald glares, "And maybe you're right about Clue. But at least Clue knows we exist. Joining Rinzler and Clue was the best thing we've ever done. And ain't nothin' gonna stop us from getting what we came for."

Nougetsia tosses her disk again and this time both Glitch and Vanellope have to dodge. The citizens of Sugar Rush scatter, running in all different directions. Glitch rolls and pulls out her disk again, sending it flying towards Nougetsia's returning disk. She knocks it out of the way, but it isn't enough. Torvald, Citrusela, and Sticky each pull out a disk of their own, proving how outnumbered they are.

"Give it up Glitch," Citrusella crosses her arms, "If you knew what was best for you, you'd hand her over. Turning yourself in for treason would be a good idea as well."

"I saved my people!" Glitch shouts.

"No, you betrayed them. Washed yourself to protect those silly humans as if they meant something to you." Torvald turns up her nose.

"You are the ones who are brainwashed! Has he not told you who you are? Has he not told you where you come from?" Glitch raises her eyebrows.

"Not that it matters to you any. You're the product of blood and code itself. The perfect balance. Able to do what others can't! Travel between the worlds freely and assume a body in both states. Face it, you're a fake! Hated by everyone. You've been given a gift and you choose to use it like a villain."

"Everything I've done has been to protect you!" Glitch narrows her eyes.

"And you've failed," Torvald says. Citrusela pulls out a yoyo and launches it towards Vanellope. Vanellope screams as it wraps around her and pulls her towards them.

"Vanellope!" Glitch shouts.

"Nu, uh uh," Sticky shakes her head, "You know how these little babies work. The more she struggles, the more she hurts. You can't touch her and she can't glitch out. Don't think we didn't prepare for her little disappearing act. Come on guys. Glitch, be a dear and come home for a visit sometime. We've been dying to have you!"

With Vanellope's screams fading away, the group is whisked into Tron. Glitch glances around at Sugar Rush, her pulse racing.

"No!" Glitch shouts, gritting her teeth and knocking over one of the pillars near her. She takes her disk and tosses it, slicing all of the bleachers in half. She lets out a few more grunts of frustration.

"Doesn't feel so good does it?" A voice calls. Without hesitation, Glitch tosses the disk, not even needing to look at who it was to know it wasn't someone she wanted to talk to.

"Rinzler! Do you have any idea what you've done!" Glitch shouts.

"Find your champions Glitch." Rinzler says with a low chuckle.

"Oh I have my champions, buddy. I'm just not sure you can take it." Glitch huffs.

"We'll be waiting," Rinzler nods, "Game on."


	8. A New Hope

"This is where she lives?" Hiro marvels at the small mobile home in Butane Trailer Park. There were two lawn chairs, an awning, and one small table on the outside of the home. The rest of the team were stationed in the BH6 mobile.

 _"Hiro, I don't think we need to call in a death squad for this."_ Gogo's voice resonates in Hiro's earpiece.

 _"It makes sense. Didn't Hiro say that she lost everything in the divorce? It must be hard to find a job after such a scandal."_ Honey Lemon interjects.

"Zip it," Hiro whispers, trying to tell the team to back off without Aunt Cass noticing.

"Yeah. She had it pretty rough after the divorce." Cass puts her hands on her hips, "I think it's really cool that you wanted to see her. What made you want to come?"

"Well I thought about what you said about her having a hard time. I figured it might be nice to have someone to talk to. Who knows? Maybe I could help her out." Hiro shrugs.

"I'm glad you came around to the idea." Aunt Cass pats him on the back, "Go ahead and knock."

Hiro takes a step forward and knocks on the metal door. Mrs. Schweetzeneger cautiously opens the door, smiling at Hiro and Cass.

"Oh my goodness! What on Earth are you doing here?" Ms. Schweetzeneger says giving Cass a ginormous hug.

"Hiro wanted to come talk to you. You know, relive the memories." Cass smiles.

"I have so many questions. I don't remember anything about you. Since my brother died, I've been trying to find anyway to keep him alive, y'know?" Hiro shrugs, his voice becoming shaky just thinking about Tadashii.

"Of course dear. I understand exactly what it's like to lose someone so important to you," Ms. Schweetzeneger says sullenly.

"Cheer up hun," Cass pats her on the back, "I've got to get back to the café but I'm sure Hiro will be good company."

"Okay. Let's get together soon, okay?" Ms. Schweetzeneger smiles at Cass ushering Hiro inside. Inside, Ms. Schweetzeneger's house is clean. There is one sink and a few cabinets, a single couch, small tv and an old fashioned radio, and a staircase that leads up to a bedroom. Hiro frowns, feeling as if this woman should be living better.

"Please, have a seat." Ms. Schweetzeneger gestured towards the built in couch. "Can I get you anything? Tea, lemonade perhaps?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Hiro nods still glancing around. Ms. Schweetzeneger blushes, noticing Hiro's curiosity.

"I know it's not much," Ms. Schweetzeneger says, "But it was the only thing I could afford after the divorce."

"That must have been pretty rough on you," Hiro sighs, "I read about everything that happened. How are you holding up with Sugar Rush 2.0 having come out?"

"It's been… interesting. Sometimes I can't help but wonder if that's what Vanellope would look like if she were still alive." Ms. Schweetzeneger closes her eyes, trying not to cry.

 _"Still alive? She's dead?"_ Wasabi's voice booms through Hiro's earpiece.

 _"This story just keeps escalating!"_ Fred responds.

"I thought she was only missing?" Hiro questions.

"I'd rather believe she's dead. Saves me the worry and false hope." Ms. Schweetzeneger sighs, "It all happened so quickly. Losing my little vanilla ice cream was the saddest day of my life."

"With the release of the game, how were people unable to find her and your ex husband?" Hiro asks.

"This case baffled the police. The detectives told me there was no trace of them. The company decided to release the game only because there was no evidence of false practices. Since Mr. Schweetzeneger has signed off authority to some of his closest advisors, when they disappeared, the advisors thought it was best to release the game. I was just the wife of an investor, therefore I had no say."

"There was nothing odd about the situation?" Hiro raises an eyebrow, "no weird codes in the program? Glitches in the system?"

"I'm not much of a tech person. ENCOM has people who do that for us. Mr. Schweetzeneger took me through the whole programming with ENCOM representatives. None of them knew more than the previous owners."

 _"She means Flynn and the ISO girl!"_ Honey Lemon gasps.

"Do you happen to know whatever groundbreaking technology your ex was working on?" Hiro inquires.

"How could I forget? He spent hours on the phone, running tests, poking through old files, and he would lock himself in his study. He once had asked Quora, the previous owner's wife, for the coding to make this technology happen. She wouldn't give it to him. He was so angry that day, but I assumed he never worked out the details. The day before he disappeared he claimed he had a breakthrough that would change our lives. I couldn't have cared less. We already had more money than we knew what to do with, and a beautiful daughter." Ms. Schweetzeneger sighs, "I just hate your brother got so involved. A kid shouldn't have to deal with such a man."

"What does Tadashii have to do with anything?" Hiro is taken aback.

"Hmm? Well, I had known your Aunt from high school. You and Tadashii used to come over all the time after your parents died. Tadashii liked to read through some of the computer codes stored in Mr. Schweetzeneger's office. When he came across the complex code, he used to sit there trying to fix the bugs with my ex husband. They used to spend hours together. One day Tadashii tried to warn me that Mr. Schweetzeneger was taking this project too far. I didn't believe it then and even now I don't believe it. It seems preposterous to send people into a game."

 _"It's all adding up now,"_ Gogo states," _the photo thanking Tadashii, sending people into a game. It was all real. If litwhack is right and Vanellope is stuck in Sugar Rush, then we have a huge lead."_

Hiro nods as he listened to the story. Between Ms. Schweetzeneger and his team, his mind is gathering all of the information. Everything he has learned so far is coming together. If Vanellope is inside Sugar Rush, then where was Mr. Schweetzeneger?

"What was Vanellope like?" Hiro finds himself asking.

 _"Hiro, stay on task! We aren't supposed to be asking personal info. We need answers."_ Gogo reminds him.

"She was a bundle of joy. She loved to dance, loved to play, and she loved candy. She would do anything for candy. It's where my ex husband got the idea for Sugar Rush. She always had energy. Probably because I constantly kept candy in my purse." Ms. Schweetzeneger laughs.

"I remember that!" Hiro gasps, "You always asked me if I wanted candy. That's why you asked when I saw you at Aunt Cass's café the other day."

"Yes! It's all Vanellope's fault. I was never big on Sugar until I got pregnant with her. Every sugary item I saw, I ate. It's not surprise she ended up liking sweets so much. She loved hanging out with Tadashii." Ms. Schweetzeneger says.

"Who didn't? Tadashii was awesome!" Hiro smiles.

"She loved you more," Ms. Schweetzeneger grins.

"Me?" Hiro asks.

"You made her laugh. Every day the only person she wanted to see was you. Lots of kids loved being with her, but she was quick to snuff out sinister children. Therefore she didn't have many friends. But she saw something in your brother and she definitely saw something in you, Hiro. I can't thank you enough for what you did for my little girl." Ms. Schweetzeneger says.

"I'm sure I didn't do much," Hiro says trying not to blush.

"You did more than you will ever know. She learned so much from the two of you. She learned more than just how to multiply. She learned how to trust, how to be a leader, how to keep her head high during troubles, and most importantly, you taught her how to love. I could be wrong and my daughter could be out there somewhere. And if she is, I just know in my soul that she is still charming everyone she meets." Ms. Schweetzeneger pats Hiro on the back.

"Thank you," Hiro nods, "I came here to make sure you were okay, and somehow you ended up helping me."

Ms. Schweetzeneger smiles and ruffles his hair, "Call it a mother's intuition, but I could tell something was up. What's going on Hiro?"

 _"Hiro, don't say a word! BH6 is a secret!_ " Wasabi calls.

"I know this is going to sound crazy—"

" _Hiro, No!"_ Gogo's voice booms.

"But I've been having dreams about Vanellope." Hiro shrugs. Hiro can hear confused grunts from the team and a few sighs of relief.

"You're right, that sounds crazy." Ms. Schweetzeneger laughs.

"It's true! The other day I had a weird dream about a Chinese song you taught Vanellope and I." Hiro continues.

"You remembered that crazy little song?" Ms. Schweetzeneger marvels, "I haven't sung that song since Vanellope went missing."

"Yi, er, san, si, wu, liu, qi," Hiro sings.

"Wo de pengyou zai na li!" Ms. Schweetzeneger joins in, "You really do remember that song!"

"Yeah," Hiro chuckles, "the meaning of the words were: one two three four five six seven, where is my friend? Vanellope used to hop around the playground and leave me little notecards that had the names of the different spots in Chinese. We would sing the song and I say where she was in Chinese."

"You two were so adorable," Ms. Schweetzeneger sighs, "Well Hiro, I hope I was able to ease whatever is going on in that handsom head of yours."

"You have no idea," Hiro says giving Ms. Schweetzeneger a hug, "I'll talk to you later."

"Bye Hiro!" Ms. Schweetzeneger says opening the door to let him out. Hiro takes a few steps but soon turns around before she can shut her door.

"Ms. Schweetzeneger," Hiro calls grabbing her attention, "I wouldn't give up on Vanellope yet. I have a good feeling that she's going to come home to you real soon."

"Bless your heart, Hiro." Ms. Schweetzeneger says before closing her door. Hiro takes a deep breathe before walking to the teams van. It was invisible at the moment, hiding on the grass of the park. Hiro glances around before slipping inside the high tech van. As soon as he does, the team stares at him. Hiro finds himself becoming uncomfortable by their stares.

"What?" Hiro asks reaching up to touch his head, "do I have something in my hair?"

"You are having dreams about this girl?" Fred makes goo goo eyes at Hiro.

"Was she like your girl friend as a kid or something?" Gogo laughs.

"Shut up guys! She was never my girl friend. It seems like we were just really good friends." Hiro defends himself.

"Friends with a _love_ connection!" Honey Lemon pokes Hiro as she laughs.

"Guys, come on!" Hiro can feel himself blushing, "We have a job to do, okay?"

"Right," Wasabi nods, "So what's the plan? We got a lot of good information. It seems the secret to this technology is in whatever that backup is."

"There's only one problem," Hiro snaps, "There is no way Mr. Schweetzeneger just left a backup of that kind of technology lying around. If he disappeared, then he probably has the backup too. That way, there is no way any one else can discover the secret to the technology.

"You're right. But it sounds like there is still 2 people who have not only developed the tech, but have also made it in and out of the game." Fred nods, "I'm talking full blow boss level gaming. The ultimate gamers."

"Quora and Sam," Wasabi nods, "They might be our only hope at getting some answers."

"I guess it's time we pay them a visit." Hiro nods leaning against their dashboard, "No matter what, we have got to crack this case before Tron tries to take over the world."

* * *

Sam Flynn stands staring out the window of his penthouse. He had chosen a high rise penthouse since Quora's favorite thing to do is watch the sun rise and set. Currently, she is sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee and a newspaper. She had already been to the gym and had made both of them breakfast. She had gotten used to the human world and settled in nicely.

Things had been quiet since they sold ENCOM. It had not been an ideal situation, but under the circumstances, Sam was left with no choice. It was easy to blackmail, but difficult to be blackmailed. At least the result of being blackmailed ended with a large sum of money to set the two of them up for life.

Sam had begun his routine as usual and in about thirty minutes, he would go for a bike ride to the pier. As he is watching, he hears a sound that he has not heard in years. The sound of pixels materializing into thin air.

"Sam," Quora's voice calls. He turns and PixelChick materializes dropping to the ground. She goes down on one knee, bowing her head.

"Father, mother." Pixel says he voice quivering. Quora rushes to her side and pulls her up.

"Pixel, what is wrong? Why have you returned?" Quora asks.

"I failed you both," Pixel says unable to meet their eye, "I was unable to save the Sugar Rush children from the hands of the enemy."

"Pixel no—" Sam starts.

"Rinzler has taken them. All of them."

"But none of them know why? None of them remember anything?" Sam asks.

"No." Pixel answers plainly.

"Good," Sam nods, "as long as they do not remember, they are of little use to Clue. We will have to monitor this situation carefully. We cannot afford any mistakes."

"But father, the champions—"

"Are already on their way here. I can help them as much as I can but they will need to trust you. You are not the best at making friends. In fact, you've become a common criminal around these parts." Sam shakes his head.

"A necessary evil," Pixel shrugs.

"Evil is never necessary." Quora scolds, "but that is why you are an ISO. You have the will to choose right and wrong. One day you will have to answer to your mistakes. But for now you must set things right."

"What if we can't stop Clue in time?" Pixel asks.

"There would only be one other option," Quora sighs.

"Quora, we won't let that happen." Sam puts up a hand.

"But Sam, if it does—"

"It won't!"

"Sam—"

"I would rather go back into Tron and kill Clue myself, than to shut down electricity all over the world and watch you and Pixel die!" Sam fires.

Pixel and Quora exchange glances and sadly look down. They knew how much Sam cared for their well being. He also cared for the safety of the children. If they had to shut down electricity around the globe, they would be stuck inside Sugar Rush indefinitely. There would be no way for them to get out. They would die along with every piece of electrical device on the planet. Having that kind of power was scary but necessary. It would be better to send the world off grid, then to have the world living in a computer generated grid. Clue would overtake everything.

"What do we do now father?" Pixel asks.

"Tadashii was the key to saving the world. Now it all lies in his little brother, Mr. Schweetzeneger's daughter and the rest of the BH6 team. We have no choice but to ask them to save us all. Or God help us."


	9. Lost

Hiro stands behind the counter of Aunt Cass's café, watching as the minutes roll by. He desperately needed to work on his SFIT project, but at the moment there was nothing he could do. Hiro watches his Aunt Cass serve the customers as they come through the door. She was a pro at her job, and she loved it. Hiro just wanted to be able to do the same thing. Sometimes he questions what his job is. Does he wish he were a full time super hero? Other people would read comic books to get their superhero fill, but it will never be a reality for them. It is for him.

Hiro smiles at his Aunt as she comes back to the counter to collect more goodies.

"Are you okay? You just seem so distracted lately. Happier, but distracted." Aunt Cass says leaning against the counter with her arms crossed.

"I'm fine Aunt Cass," Hiro laughs, "It's just been a lot."

"What do you mean! It's not nearly enough!" Aunt Cass says.

"What? I'm confused," Hiro raises his eyebrow.

"I get it," Cass nods, "You're 'too busy for a girlfriend'"

"Aunt Cass! Do we have to keep talking about this?" Hiro rolls his eyes.

"You've never had one! Tedashii either! I just want to make sure that you settle down with the right girl—"

"Aunt Cass, really! I'm not going to just ask any girl that's smart like me, or is pretty. I want a girl that when I look at her… I just… know. Y'know?" Hiro fantasizes, "It will hit me pretty much like lightning and everything from that point on is history."

"I guess I can respect that," Cass nods and then pauses. "But how long do you think that will take?"

"Aunt Cass!" Hiro laughs grabbing the bag of donuts that Cass had been packing and taking it to the tall slender man in the corner.

"Here you go," Hiro smiles handing the man the bag.

"Thank you, young man. This is a nice café you have. Does that woman own it?" The man smiles. He was slightly older than his Aunt Cass.

"Yeah. That's my Aunt. It's a really good café and pretty much all the customers are regulars or travelers that have heard through the grapevine that this is a good place to get goodies." Hiro nods gazinga round the café.

"And you? Do you work here?" The man asks taking a donut out of the bag.

"Part- time yes. I'm a student at SFIT and I'm in an advanced robotics program so I don't have a whole lot of time to be working." Hiro shakes his head.

"Wow," The man's eyes go wide, "That must be expensive. How are you paying with no job?'

"I got a full ride. No need to pay. Just paying with my services." Hiro nods.

"Impressive. Impressive indeed. Almost impressive as those super heroes running around the city." The man eyeballs Hiro curiously.

"Superheroes?" Hiro tries to play it off.

"Oh come on, you're young! You have had to have heard of Big Hero 6. The superheroes that work by night to save the city." The man takes another bite of his food, "You know, something tells me they are going to have one of the biggest fights of their lives."

Hiro takes a step back, putting his hands in his pockets. This man was getting a little too personal for him.

"Why would you say that? You're not a criminal or anything are you?" Hiro raises his eyebrow.

"Of course not," The man is taken aback and then gestures to his protruding belly, "Do I really look like a master criminal to you."

Hiro and the man share a laugh.

"I guess not," Hiro smiles.

"You bet I'm not," The man smiles, "Well, It was nice to meet you kid. We'll be seeing each other soon I'm sure. Please thank your Aunt for me. I'll be back for more!"

"Bye Mr…" Hiro starts.

"Names aren't that important right now," The man waves, "Goodbye for now."

Hiro stares dumbfoundedly at the door. That man was one of the most bizarre people he has ever come across. He seemed as though he was probing for answers, which Hiro is happy he was able to dodge. All in all, the man seemed as if he was being careful with his words, but maybe too careful. The whole conversation seemed too planned. Hiro furles his eyebrows and walks back to the counter.

"Have you ever seen him before?" Hiro asks his Aunt, gesturing back to the man who is now walking away on the sidewalk.

"Nope. Never been in here before. First time visitor!" His Aunt gasps, "We need first visit buttons!"

"Aunt Cass, no." Hiro shakes his head, "This isn't Disney World."

They laugh and Hiro gives her a kiss on the cheek. He heads upstairs and allows Aunt Cass to finish closing up shop. He sighs once he reaches his room dropping down onto his bed. His computer is turned off and his phone and tablet lie idle beside it. It is driving him crazy limiting the amount of time he spends on his devices. All of his calculations are on them. Without them, he is lost. While he is smart enough to do the calculations by hand, his hands do not move as fast as a computer.

The tick-tock of his clock is all he can hear over the hustle and bustle of the city ambiance. He closes his eyes, hoping not to get any more bizarre flashbacks. As he closes his eyes, he hears a twinge. He opens one eye and closes it again. Three seconds later he hears the noise again. _Blip bleeeeeep, blip bloop._ Hiro bolts to a seated position gazing around his room. He can't see a thing. Tedashii's room is still open from the previous night when he had probed the room.

Hiro cautiously approaches the screen and the sound becomes louder.

 _Bleeeeedie bloop, blip, blip, bloop, blap._ The sound grows stronger. Hiro comes to a stop in front of Tedashii's old bed and he starts to feel a small vibration under his feet. Hiro looks down at the carpet that is underneath Tedashii's bed. Hiro bends down to the floor and tries to poke his head under the bed. He can hear the sound loud and clear.

The only way for Hiro to get to it is to move everything out of the way. He starts to deconstruct Tedashii's sheets and matress just enough for him to move the mattress and nightstand out of the way. Once he does he pulls up the rug. There is one wood panel that is discolored. Hiro bends down and fingers over the panel. He uses his finger and pulls up on the panel. Underneath it is an old fashioned PDA. There is code flashing across the screen.

"What the—" Hiro mumbles under his breath. As soon as he starts talking the code stops. The screen blacks out and instead black letters appear on the screen.

HIRO

Hiro drops the PDA and as soon as he does the code flashes again. Hiro's heart is racing, but he picks it up again, attempting to let his nerves not get the best of him.

"Who is this?" Hiro asks, wondering if that is how the PDA responds. The PDA was so old fashioned it should have been impossible that it worked this way.

I HAVE SOMEONE YOU NEED TO MEET. THEY NEED YOUR HELP.

"Help who?" Hiro asks.

YOUR OTHER FRIENDS HAVE RECEIVED THE SAME MESSAGE.

"Wow this thing is no help at all," Hiro says turning it over.

HEY! I AM OFFENDED I'M PLENTY HELP.

Hiro gasps, and then scoffs, "Who is this?"

DOESN'T MATTER RIGHT NOW. YOU WILL MEET YOUR FRIENDS AT THE BACK ALLEY OF THANIS LANE AT MIDNIGHT. THEY WILL PICK YOU ALL UP AND TAKE YOU TO A SECURE LOCATION.

"Why should I trust you?"

BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE RIGHT NOW. I'VE INSTRUCTED LITWHACK TO COME ALONG. SEE YOU SOON.

"Litwhack? Pixel! Is that you?" Hiro glares at the screen.

As soon as he says that the screen returns to code. Hiro wipes his face with his hand, completely baffled by all of the information he is having to process. It definitely sounded like Glitch, but how were they supposed to be able to trust her. He thinks back to how she tried to rescue them before. Maybe she was a good person.

Hiro looked at the time and noticed it was only ten o'clock. He still had plenty of time to gather his things. He wonders how long they will be gone. His Aunt Cass would worry if he left and took too long coming back. He contemplates his options and goes with an old fashioned note. He will leave it on the counter before he leaves.

Hiro is ready to start getting some answers. Whatever they need to do to get this case cracked and back in order.

* * *

Vanellope blinks a couple times before opening her eyes. She sits up and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. She slings her legs over the side of a large bed. Vanellope finally processes what she is doing and gasps. She glances around. She is in a large room. The floors and ceiling were pitch black and beveled. The walls were a bright white color. On the left side of the room is what looks like a mini kitchen and down the small step is another seating area. There looks to be water in the center and it is surrounded by two couches. Vanellope looks down to see herself in a pure white night gown. It is a halter dress that stops just above her knee caps. Her hair falls over her shoulders and there is not a piece of candy in sight.

Vanellope jumps to her feet, her bare feet touching the warm floor that is illuminated by orange lights trailing the edges of the beveled floor.

"What kind of a joke is this!" Vanellope puts her hands on her hips, "I don't work in black! Where's the color? Where's the candy!"

Vanellope walks around and passes by what looks like a door. She goes to turn the knob but it's locked.

"Hey! Let me out you geezers!" Vanellope smacks on the door.

"That's some tough language coming from such an elegant young lady." A seductive calls.

"Listen bozo—wow," Vanellope stops short, turning to see a man with slicked back black hair. His suit is completely black with orange neon stripes surrounding it. Vanellope hugs the wall, but she cannot take his eyes off of his eyes. They seemed to stare daggers at her, but something about them was beautiful.

"I get that reaction a lot," He laughs taking a seat on the sofa. He pats the seat next to him. Reluctantly, Vanellope follows him, but instead she takes a seat across from him. The water reflects a faint blue glow around them as it gently sloshes back and forth. She is only used to their candy rivers. She has never seen water this pure before.

"You can touch it," The man gestures, "Taste it, bathe in it, whatever you wish."

"I'm a program, I don't need to taste it," Vanellope rolls her eyes.

"But you want to." He smiles, "Go ahead."

Vanellope looks at him with wide eyes. It has always occurred to them that as programs, they didn't necessarily need to eat, but they did. They did not need to exercise, but they did. There was so much as computer programs they did not have to worry about. Yet before her is crystal clear water. Water that she had never seen before and had always been afraid of. It was said that water could fry an electrical circuit and kill an entire game console.

Vanellope bends down near the edge of the water, making sure she is far away from the man. She didn't want him pushing her in. She carefully dips a finger in the water and pulls it out. She smiles at the small sensation left on her fingertips. She places her whole hand in the cool water, watching it flow over her palm.

"Wow," Vanellope giggles now playing with the water.

"Amazing isn't it?" The man nods, "So amazing that it almost makes you feel real."

Vanellope stops in her tracks and gazes up at the man, "It's not that spectacular."

"But it could be." The man stands, "Let's talk for a moment."

"I'm not sure I have any other choice," Vanellope scoffs.

"Smart girl," He smiles, "Listen. Your friend—your protector. Glitch. She is more real than any of us will ever understand. The ability to go between the digital realm and the real world. A world that does not have to live up to a creator. A world that is free to be real."

"Well the world had to be created somehow so how do you know it doesn't have to answer to a creator?" Vanellope teases.

"It would be mathematically incorrect," The man scoffs, "But wouldn't you like to feel the real sensation of water? To completely be engulfed in the sensation, not just the tingles? But the need to drink water for your survival. A chance to really become human. Glitch has that ability. It's not fair."

"Glitch? But what the heck does she have to do with anything?" Vanellope raises her eyebrow.

"We need her. We need to know how she does it, how she operates, what her creators did to allow her such freedom." The man says, "Look I know you don't like Glitch so I think we can help each other—"

"Wait," Vanellope puts a hand up, "So, you kidnapped me to ask me to help you find someone I don't like? What the heck man why didn't you just ask?"

"So you'll help us track her down?"

"Well I won't now," Vanellope shrugs, "Because now you just sound shady."

The man is taken aback, "What did you just say?"

"I mean, come on, you could've just asked but instead you had to kidnap everybody and turned my alternates against me. I don't like Glitch, but I sure heck don't trust you either soooooo….. I think we have a problem." Vanellope crosses her arms.

"Oh I'm sure you do," The man smiles, "But we won't have a problem for long."

"What are you talking about?" Vanellope glares, "Listen bud—"

"Your friends seem like they could use a bit of combat practice. They might be able to learn a few things from the alternates."

"Wait a second, you can't train them in combat! Their racers!" Vanellope gasps, "That's not in their programming!"

"Well they had better figure it out. Besides, the alternates got it fairly quickly. I'd say your friends are going to do just fine."

"What are you training them for? To catch Glitch? I already told you I'm not going to track her down!" Vanellope folds her arms.

"No, no no. I have the alternates for that. They are such busy bodies that they can track anyone from a 100 mile radius. It's not Glitch I am training them for. I have a few pests that my masters calculations suggest could get in the way."

"Get in the way? Who?" Vanellope mumbles. Her first thoughts are one of gratitude. Was there someone out there that is fighting for them? Someone fighting with them? If so who are they? When will they come to the rescue? Could it be that they are talking about Calhoun, Felix, and Ralph? There is no way that Ralph is going to let her stay missing for too long. They are going to come after them. Ralph would never leave her.

"You don't need to know. But for right now, until you agree to fully assist, I suggest you get comfortable." The man flips a switch and the black curtains that were in front of the pool of water begin to fan backwards. Vanellope gasps, stumbling towards the window. Below her are streams of electricle currents, some in orange, some in blue. She gazes in awestruck wonder at the site before her. Vehicles hover in the air and are traveling at high speeds

"Oh my popsicle sticks," Vanellope covers her mouth.

"Welcome to Tron."


End file.
